JURASSIC WORLD
by HERMIT532
Summary: The team discovers a world with dinosaurs and they aren't alone. Regretfully, I don't own any of the Atlantis characters. COMPLETE. SEQUEL WILL BE JURASSIC GIRL
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1:

Day 1

Dim sunlight bathed the clearing, but under the trees was darkness. If the cloud cover ever lifted sunlight would probably filter through, but it was doubtful the denizens of the forest ever saw bright sunlight. Thick fog swirled over the clearing and lapped at the Gate like a smoky lake hiding everything lower than knee height.

"How is it, John?" Elizabeth's voice came over the radio.

"Rodney's checking for life signs." Colonel Sheppard responded quietly never taking his eyes off the tree line. Huge, freaking-giant trees dripping with moss and draped in vines stood like mute guards over the forest denizens. Underbrush filled the gaps between the trees. Plants and ferns four, maybe five feet tall jostled for growing space and limited sunlight.

Conifers dotted the large clearing mingling with birch and oak like trees. Two slender birch like trees grew close enough to put them on this world on foot instead of in the puddle jumper.

"Oh, oh yeah," Dr. McKay fumbled the life signs detector out of his vest pocket. Slowly, he scanned the area in an arc intense blue eyes focused on the screen. "A lot of life." He raised his eyes to stare thoughtfully into the abundant growth, then tapped the keys on the detector and scanned again. "No, energy signals of any kind except the DHD. I'd say the life signs are animals not people."

"You sure?" Ronon asked in his low timbre. He looked deceptively at ease as he too scanned the surroundings for any type of danger. He stood close behind McKay, but not close enough to make him nervous.

McKay gave him a disgusted look. "As sure as I can be staring at a tiny screen full of same colored dots."

Ronon frowned at him.

"Look, no energy signals means no civilization of any kind. It doesn't rule out pre-tech communities that like to shoot arrows at us, but the groupings and movements indicate browsing herds with very few individual signs which could be what passes for predators on this world, but this is the Pegasus Galaxy and it is us."

"So there could be people?" Ronon egged him on.

"Yes, of course there could be people. And if so, most likely they will want to shoot at us."

"Perhaps this will be one of our uneventful missions." Teyla replied without much conviction. "We are looking for fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables not technology or allies."

"Mmmm, which brings me back to my earlier point," McKay retorted referring to the mission briefing. The one where Dr. Weir had informed them that this would be the Daedalus' last supply run for awhile. Earth apparently needed it for the fight against the Ori. Finding fresh food supplies became the first order of business. "Shouldn't another team being doing this one?"

"The other teams are searching on other worlds, Rodney." Teyla said patiently.

Sheppard gave him a frustrated look. "Well, it won't be a mission if we don't leave the clearing. Be back in three days, Elizabeth. Hopefully, with fresh meat for the larder." Sheppard said dryly and started forward wading carefully through the thick fog well aware that literally anything could be hidden from his sight.

"I don't mind hunting game." Ronon stated with a look of anticipation.

McKay muttered, "Of course you don't, Rambo" and followed Sheppard through the fog. "Wait a minute." He stopped by the vine covered DHD and with Teyla's help cleared off the dense growth that had grown over it. He pushed a symbol and it lit up. "It appears to be undamaged. You want me to dial Atlantis to be sure it works?"

"No. If it has power, it should work." Sheppard really wanted to get on with the hunt. It had been a long time since they had a simple mission like this. One more like a vacation than work.

"Okay." McKay caught up with Sheppard.

Behind them the Gate shut down with a soft whoosh. Silence enveloped them broken only by the rustling leaves and the occasional raucous calls that sound somewhat avian. A large blue and yellow bird soared into view. It appeared to be three feet long with a wing span of ten to fifteen feet. It cast a large, wavering shadow across the fog as it glided across the clearing and disappeared into the trees behind them.

"Wow." McKay gazed at the huge bird raptly turning to watch its flight until it disappeared. "Something that big shouldn't be able to fly. That's truly amazing." Excitement tinged his voice making him seem younger than he usually did.

Beyond the clearing behind the Star Gate the land became hilly, rolling waves of tall conifers. Far, far into the distance were mountains that appeared as mere smudges of dark blues and grays against the horizon.

"Rodney."

"There's a large group directly ahead about half a mile and a smaller group off to the right at about the same distance. And just so it's perfectly understood, I do not slaughter animals nor do I dress out the kill. I am an astrophysicist not a big game hunter."

"So why'd you come?" Ronon asked derisively.

"My question exactly, my friend." McKay retorted companionably with a cheeky grin. His eyes lit up momentarily at the small smile Ronon gave him.

"Let's check out the smaller group first." Sheppard ignored the bickering that was part and parcel of communication on their team and decided prudently to choose the cautious approach until they knew what this world had in store for them.

Teyla noticed with satisfaction that Dr. McKay was dividing his attention between the life signs detector and his surroundings. He had made a lot of progress in the five years they had been a team from the completely naïve, when it came to scouting and defensive procedures, scientist who would focus so completely on an energy signature or piece of technology that he would not notice an enemy until a gun barrel or arrow was pointed at his head, to an alert and competent field scientist/soldier.

She remembered when she had first noticed how he was unobtrusively studying them, soaking up their actions and reactions and then awkwardly trying to incorporate them into his own behavior a mission or two later. Trying in his own awkward way to become less of a hindrance, less of a handicap off world. She had mentioned it to Ronon who admitted he had noticed it as well. They had discussed the situation and decided that a more competent, survival-trained McKay could only benefit the team.

She also remembered his surprise and leeriness when she and Ronon had approached him one night when he was alone in his lab. They had offered him a deal. They would teach him how to notice people hiding in the shadows, how they knew when something was wrong, how to divide his concentration, teach him to notice the little details, how to hit what he shot at, how to pass information without speaking, how to defend himself with whatever was at hand at least until one of them reached him.

In return he would teach them to use the computers, how to email and research things, explain Earth sayings that they did not get, how to open ancient doors by rearranging crystals, how to jury-rig things, how to make power sources overload just in case, and give them a basic understanding of the ancient technology so they could follow his instructions if he became partially incapacitated off world. The training for all of them would be done covertly so as to avoid embarrassment on all accounts. They had finally convinced him they were serious and not setting him up for a huge gag.

The only two people that would be told would be Sheppard and Dr. Weir. Dr. Weir had thought it a very good idea. Her only comments were 'Don't break bones or injure his hands, Ronon.' and 'Don't let them blow themselves up'. Sheppard had just given them a peculiar look, a mix of 'you've got to be kidding' and 'this is going to be so amusing'. There had been much frustration, much yelling, many bruises, many electrical shocks and burnt fingers, but there had been much progress and it had all paid off. They didn't worry so much about him anymore and he carried himself with a lot more confidence and quite a lot less panicked freak outs when they were attacked. There was a lot less 'we're going to die' and a lot more 'let's get out of here it's dinner time'. In fact, he had eventually ordered all his scientists to undergo the same training he had subjected himself too.

They passed under the enshrouded canopy of the gigantic trees and into a different world. It went from mid-morning to dusk in just a few steps. The early summer heat became early spring chill. The fog swirling around their legs became damp and cold. A thick hush surrounded them making them all reluctant to break the stillness.

Pausing, McKay blinked as his sight adjusted then he glanced at the detector, touched Sheppard's arm and pointed to his diagonal right. Sheppard nodded and headed in that direction. McKay followed with Teyla pacing him to his left which kept both their weapons hands free since she was left-handed and he, right. Ronon brought up the rear listening for anything coming up behind them.

As they moved as quietly as possible through the dense undergrowth they could hear tiny critters, most likely insects, moving beneath the dead leaves and other detritus that carpeted the forest floor and the scurrying of small rodents. High above them the air was filled with bird calls, shrieks, chitterings, chirps and various other sounds.

"I've never seen trees so tall." Teyla murmured. "I cannot see the tops."

"Me neither." Ronon brushed thick vines out of the way.

"Rainforest." Sheppard surmised, wading through the dense greenery.

"More like the Jurassic Period."

"Dinosaurs, Rodney?" Sheppard frowned.

"No. I'm not saying dinosaurs, Colonel. I'm saying the vegetation is more related to that period than to the rainforests."

Sheppard stopped, hand up, fist closed. All talking immediately ceased and they all stopped behind him gazes darting around to pinpoint any danger. Slowly, he pointed forward turning to give McKay a stunned look.

There, not ten feet away was a small cluster of lizard-like creatures. Lizard-like in that they were leathery skinned and mottled gray-green and white with bony spikes down their back and across their sides. About three to four feet tall they were balanced on their hind feet slowly munching away on ferns, plant leaves, and mosses. Their long tails swaying gracefully back and forth whipping the fog into swirling drifts.

McKay's wide eyes met Sheppard's. They both grinned. "Tiny dinosaurs," he whispered, a mere breath of sound. A sound, though, that alerted the small herbivores. Heads swiveled and upon sighting the strangers in their forest they dropped to all fours effectively disappearing in the fog. The only proof to their existence the muted sounds of flight.

The deeper they progressed the more sounds of life they heard. A soft chittering above their heads had Ronon peering up into the dimness. A small furry animal looked down at him from a lofty height. It clung to the tree trunk with tiny black paws and had a long tail wrapped around a branch to help anchor it. Ronon pulled his gun from its holster. "Not yet," Sheppard stopped him. "Check things out first. Gather samples on the way back to the Gate."

Ronon grunted in agreement and re-holstered his weapon. He would not want to have to carry an increasingly heavy pack throughout the day.

Continuing on they worked their way through densely crowded giant ferns and bushes loaded with black berries and red berries. Huge flowers hung on vines and danced gracefully on thick stems rising from thick foliage. Moss hung in sheets from tree branches and thick vines. Toppled logs half as tall as they were crossed the path making them scramble over or duck under if one end was caught on another tree.

Something like prehistoric squirrels ran along the branches scolding them. Leathery birds flew between the trees. Big, winged insects and moths fluttered around the flowers. Small bands of herbivorous dinosaurs ran through the undergrowth this way and that set to flight by the strange intruders.

Thirty minutes later they were standing at the edge of another small clearing gazing out at the herd of large herbivores. Standing about six feet tall and about thirty feet long they were covered in bumpy gray hide. Two protective horns and a large bony frill shadowed the herbivores eyes. A small horn protruded above their mouths. They moved slowly their short tails swaying back and forth as they walked snatching bites of vegetation and chewing methodically.

Glimpses could be caught of young ones completely surrounded by the massive armored bodies of the adults. "Triceratops?" Sheppard questioned in disbelief. He stared at the slow moving giants. Small birds rode on their backs and bony frill. Small dinosaurs darted between their feet snatching bites of grass and foliage when the triceratops stopped to browse.

McKay turned frightened eyes toward him. "Crap, we just found the Lost World." Panic flitted through his eyes as he turned his attention to the detector. "Please, please, please don't let there be any single slow moving dots." He begged as he swung the device around in a complete 360 degree circle.

"Oh, of course," he moaned. "Not a single slow moving dot. Four slow moving dots. We need to get out of here." He looked around wildly as fear laced his voice.

"McKay?" In one word Sheppard was asking what danger did Rodney think was approaching them, in what direction, how serious, and what options did they have.

"What eats Triceratops?" McKay snapped still scanning the area. "We need to move that way now." He pointed to their right and put his words in action by moving quickly but quietly in that direction.

"McKay!" Sheppard hissed causing Rodney to pause and face them.

"Oh for Pete's sake! Huge predators! In that direction!" He pointed across the clearing waving his arm in a slight arc. "Huge plant eaters with horns are going to be stampeding through here," he pointed at his feet, "any moment now."

"Crap!" Sheppard glanced across the clearing and where slight noises could now be heard. One look of the triceratops raising their heads in alarm was all he needed to motivate him.

"Run!" he commanded and took off after McKay's now quickly disappearing back. Ronon and Teyla followed him having no idea what was coming, but knowing it had to be large and mean to kill one of those creatures in the clearing.

They had only ran a few yards when roars shook the forest causing birds to take flight and the tree animals to scamper to higher heights. Dislodged leaves fluttered to the ground. Suddenly, the whole herd of herbivores were in terrified flight racing across the clearing and flattening the undergrowth as they tried to evade the predators that broke cover and chased them.

Safely out of the path of the stampede, McKay slumped behind the huge buttress of a tree trying to silence the frightened whimpers that clogged his throat as the earth shook and roars reverberated around them. Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla dropped down beside him, but he didn't spare them a glance. He kept his attention of the detector as sounds of the chase faded in the distance.

"What were those things?" Ronon asked quietly, peering warily over the man-sized tree root.

"Tyrannosaurus Rex. T-Rex." Sheppard muttered, shaking slightly himself in reaction to the beasts.

"Too small. Allosaurus most likely 10 feet tall, 30 feet long, maybe a couple tons with nothing but killing and eating and breeding on their small brains." McKay added unsteadily on an exhaled breath.

"You call that small?" Teyla questioned unbelievingly.

"Compared to a T-Rex? Yes." McKay nodded his head emphatically.

Sheppard slumped against the tree, sitting on a protuberance. "Of all the things I thought I'd see in the Pegasus Galaxy, dinosaurs never crossed my mind." He passed a slightly shaking hand over his face. "Well, they're gone for now."

"Yes, well they may not stay gone and there are most likely more than four of them around and they aren't the only dangerous dinosaurs." McKay snapped, fear making his voice sharp. "Didn't you watch Jurassic Park or the sequels. Hmmm? How about those small, oh so cute, ones that hunt in a pack like piranha? Not to mention Pterodactyls, or the cousins - Ceratosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex."

"How do you know so much about these creatures when you're an astrophysicist?" Teyla asked somewhat amazed.

"I'm a well-rounded, well educated individual." McKay huffed.

"Definitely well rounded." Ronon muttered teasingly trying to not think of the monstrous creatures that had just went past them.

"Oh, ha ha." McKay responded. "I'll have you know I've lost weight and the last few times we've had to run for our lives from angry villagers," he glared at Sheppard, I've kept up with the team."

"Not with me." Ronon corrected him.

"No one keeps up with you." Teyla interjected in Rodney's defense. "He did indeed keep up with me and I did not slow for him either." She added when Sheppard looked skeptical.

"See. Improving." McKay said haughtily. "Still, not sure I can outrun a T-Rex so how about we leave before I have to try."

"I agree. Let's head back for the Gate. I wanted to hunt game not be hunted." Sheppard stood up and headed back the way they came.

They moved carefully and quietly senses alert for danger. Rodney's eyes kept darting down at the detector then ahead and left then right over and over again. The path of the triceratops was plain to see and made progress easier since they had beaten down everything in front of them in their mad dash for safety.

They were little over halfway back when McKay muttered, "Hide," and ran off the path they were following, jumped a felled tree covered in moss, and ducked down behind a huge boulder. His team mates followed him and hunkered down beside him weapons drawn and aimed at the path they had just vacated.

"Something's coming." Rodney whispered as a slow heavy thump, thump, thump, thump began to be heard. With every thump the ground vibrated slightly. "If it sees us, we are so screwed." McKay muttered hunching down as far as he could.

A couple of years ago they would have ignored McKay's 'we're doomed' statements, but he didn't spout them at the slightest sign of danger any more so taking his advice to heart they all hunkered down as far as they could and held their breath. Besides, something heavy enough to make the ground shake would be formidable.

A fetid smell wafted over them and the thumps stopped almost directly in front of them. Even the birds and tree dwellers were still as snuffling noises punctuated the silent forest.

Sheppard peered under the felled tree and muttered 'shit' under his breath. McKay knows it's really, really bad when Ronon peeks around and jerks back face pale and eyes showing fear.

With a low growl the huge predator turned in their direction sniffing loudly. Its head cocked sideways as it tried to see what it smelled. It took one hesitant step off the path pausing to sniff again.

"We need to move." Rodney whispered very, very quietly. "It doesn't see well, but smells very well. Move slowly; stay under growth if at all possible."

Sheppard made a small wave of his hand and slowly the team melted backward creeping under a tall fern until they were on the other side of it.

Ronon glanced around them spotting a huge tree to the right. He touched Teyla and motioned. She nodded and touched McKay who touched Sheppard. They followed Ronon slowly in a crouch around the tree.

The dinosaur took another couple steps after them sniffing the new and different odors and cocking its head back and forth searching for them. Behind the tree they spied another tree flanked by huge flowering bushes. They sent McKay ahead watching the dinosaur while he scurried behind the tree then they followed.

Tree by tree, bush by fern by boulder they eluded the dinosaur, but it did not give up on the strange smell that teased and tantalized it. Doggedly, it followed them pushing its way through thick brush, tearing vines in half, breaking rotting logs that got in its way.

An outcropping provided a moments rest as leaned back against the cool earth and stone and tried to catch their breath. Ronon and Sheppard were sweating and breathing hard as was Teyla, but Rodney was wet with sweat and was being to stumble slightly when he moved. Ronon looked at him worriedly knowing that to show sympathy right now was the worst thing for McKay. He responded better in dangerous positions to being pushed not pampered.

Ronon scanned the surroundings. The land rose in a slight incline and then it looked like it might fall again. Perhaps a depression, which would be bad, or fall away in a gentle slope. He reached across the others and touched Sheppard. He pointed to the slope when Sheppard turned his attention to him.

Sheppard nodded and as quickly as they could while remaining silent they moved up the slope crouching low as they reached the top and slowly worked their way down the other side.

Boulders dotted the forest at the bottom of the small hillock. Kneeling on the far side they listened as the big dinosaur continued to hunt them. Dripping with sweat and tired Teyla dared to whisper, "We have to do something to lose it."

Ronon nodded in agreement. They couldn't continue like this. McKay wasn't far from dropping, Teyla's hands were beginning to shake and Sheppard looked as worn out as he felt.

Sheppard and McKay traded looks. "We need to disguise our smell." McKay said in a sotto voice.

Sheppard looked around desperately. They could hear they slow, steady thump, thump of the predator. "Mud, dirt." He said in an undertone. He scooped up handful and started rubbing on his arms and face.

The others hurried to do the same. In moments they were absolutely covered in grime. "Move," Ronon murmured glancing over Teyla's shoulder.

They scurried forward. With a snort, the predator's head cleared the top of the hillock and it caught sight of them. It roared and began running after them. "Run!" Sheppard shouted. They gave up stealth and took off darting under and around objects that slowed the giant dinosaur down slightly.

Branches and fronds whipped their faces and bodies as they sped over the unfamiliar terrain. They ran under toppled giants and leaped over rotting logs and uprooted saplings. Then Teyla and Rodney tripped and rolled forward disappearing underneath the roots of a giant uprooted tree. Ronon and Sheppard skidded to a halt listening to the muffled moans and grunts.

"Teyla, Rodney," Sheppard hissed. "Are you okay?"

"Get in here, Colonel." McKay called out frantically. "Now, before it sees you!"

Ronon and Sheppard traded a look and then dove under the roots. They tumbled several feet before coming to rest practically on top of Teyla and McKay.

"Oh, sure, add to the bruises." McKay muttered under his breath with a hitch of real pain in his voice.

"McKay…"

"Shut up, Colonel. It won't be able to smell us down here, but it can hear."

Sheppard shut up. They all huddled together as the ground trembled and dirt rained down on their heads. The creature sniffed and growled and trampled the ground around them. After what seemed to be an eternity, it roared its frustration making them clap hands over their ears and duck their heads to keep dirt from their eyes.

None of them dare to even breath until with a loud snort the giant creature slowly moved on. They didn't rise from their hiding place until the ground stopped trembling with every footfall and even then they waited a few more minutes and then a few more until eventually Ronon took a deep breath, drew his gun, and shimmied up out of the ground.

Still hidden by the roots he looked around carefully. What finally convinced him that it was safe was the normal sounds of the forest returning. Birds began winging through the trees; animals squealed and squeaked and scolded. "Clear." he told them and helped them out from under the tree roots.

"What was that?" Ronon asked his voice actually wavering slightly when they were all leaning against the felled tree swiping dirt and leaves out of their hair and off their clothes.

"That was definitely a Tyrannosaurus Rex." Sheppard shuddered.

"T-Rex - Most ruthless predator ever to live." McKay added bluntly, shaking like a leaf and not in the least embarrassed about it since they others were obviously rattled as well.

Sheppard looks at McKay. "If we don't get back to the Gate, we are definitely screwed.

"Then we are screwed." Teyla stated and they all looked at her. "The T-Rex is more than likely between us and the Gate."

"Maybe it'll go on past the Gate." Ronon suggested.

"Right." Sheppard nodded. "Let's head that way." He looked around the forest. "Anyone remember which way to the Gate?"

Usually, they would rib him about his amazing ability to get lost on the ground, but considering all the dodging and crawling and terrified running they had done none of them were sure which way the Gate was.

"Okay, wait," McKay patted his vest pockets until with a triumphant grin he pulled out the life signs detector. "Since there is absolutely no electronic signals on this world, I might," he glanced up at them, "might be able to detect the faint signal of the DHD."

He stared at the screen, frowned, pushed a few buttons, frown again. "Not sensitive enough." He muttered to himself adjusting the sensitivity and expanding the range. "Hmmm." He stood up from the log and walked a few feet forward then began slowly and methodically to sweep the area.

"Nothing," he finally admitted with slumped shoulders. "I've got nothing. Either the foliage is too dense or we're too far away to pick up the reading."

"We were facing east and went southeast to the clearing." Teyla said slowly.

"So we were coming back northwest then we got chased easterly. So," Ronon looked up at the sky turning slowly around, "if we head west we have a good chance of finding the Gate or at least getting close enough for the detector to pick up the signal."

McKay stared at Ronon then he looked up at the thick canopy then he looked back at Ronon. "Okay, Mister Internal Compass lead the way." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked expectant.

Ronon looked at McKay in frustration. Sometimes he wanted to hit him; he really, really did, but he didn't. It would be bad for relations. Instead, he took a deep breath, looked around, and realized something. The T-Rex had left a path of destruction in its predatory chase.

"That way," Ronon pointed and with a smug look at McKay stalked off.

Never would he let on that part of his shakes was from the thought of Rodney caught between those two gaping jaws. Okay, well, never around anyone.

Ronon took point, Sheppard paced McKay, and Teyla brought up the rear. Trusting Ronon not to get them further lost, McKay took a moment to realize he was starving and dug a power bar out of his vest and munched it quietly. He wasn't sure if his trembling hands were from fright or from low sugar so he ate.

No longer did his team mates tease him about his incessant eating not after that time on P6R-253 when they got caught in a cave in. Sixteen hours to be dug out. First had been the light-headedness. That in and of itself wasn't too bad since there hadn't been much moving around to do. He had known that it was the beginning of his downward spiral; he hadn't said anything knowing that his friends could do nothing about it but worry. Then the shaking hands; he had turned off his flashlight lecturing about conserving batteries.

A few hours later his whole body was wracked with fine tremors. Ronon had sat next to him and had felt the shakes. "Scared?" He'd asked. "What? No. Whaaat's to beeee afffrrraaiid of? I'm suurree they'rrree di..di..digging uuusss oouuttt." Silence, heavy and oppressive had fallen as they all caught the slurring words. "Rodney, you doing okay buddy?" Sheppard had asked gently, worriedly. "F..f..fine," he had snapped. "Tired."

Twelve hours in he was clammy and shaking violently. Thirteen had seen the beginning of the vomiting; horrible retching sounds echoing eerily in the darkness. They had huddled around him trying to warm him; they had searched every pocket twice looking for anything to eat. Ronon had hit the wall in frustration fracturing a finger.

Fifteen hours after the cave-in he had slipped into unconsciousness; his body going suddenly, frightening limp in his team mates arms. He hadn't heard Teyla's sobs or Sheppard's muttered curses. He didn't know Ronon had cradled him in his lap rocking him, begging him hoarsely to hold on a little longer. Awareness had come and gone in pulses he couldn't control unaware really of where he was or what was happening.

They had all hollered for Carson as soon as the tiniest hole had been made. Food and a glucose I.V. had been squeezed through the hole. Teyla had to try three times before her shaking hands had got the I.V. in. That was the day they realized he might exaggerate an ache or pain, but life threatening conditions: citrus, bee stings and hypoglycemia - those he was absolutely serious about.

He finished the power bar, took a long drink from his canteen, and then pulled out the detector checking for the elusive DHD signal. Nothing. He put it back in his vest.

"Ronon," Sheppard called out hoarsely. "We need to stop." Ronon grunted and dropped to his haunches. He took a long drink and subtly checked on McKay. Sheppard and Teyla dropped to the ground. "Eat. Everyone. MREs" Sheppard ordered wearily.

Thirty minutes passed before Sheppard hauled himself to his feet with a groan. "I hate to say it, but we need to move. We don't want to be lost out here after dark."

Teyla got slowly to her feet. "I agree. As tired as I am, we need to continue."

Ronon reached a hand out and grasped Rodney's. He pulled him smoothly to his feet. "Good to go?" He asked quietly, eyes raking Rodney's face anxiously.

"Fine. Exhausted, but fine. Besides Sheppard's right, it's going to get a lot more dangerous after the sun sets."

Ronon studied him a moment longer and then gave a short nod. "You keel over and I'll kick your ass. I'm too tired to carry you."

"Got it; no keeling over." Rodney gave him a lopsided grin then turned and shouldered his pack. In doing so, he missed the look that passed between Ronon, Sheppard, and Teyla. His friends would keep an eye on him since they all knew by now that he'd keep quiet before seeming to be a liability.

Night came early under the canopy and it was falling quickly when McKay finally got a faint beep on the detector. Everyone was stumbling from exhaustion and vision was narrowing down to a few feet.

"We need to find someplace safe for the night." Ronon rumbled.

"No where on the ground will be safe." McKay said emphatically causing everyone to look up speculatively.

"Then we climb." Sheppard said. He pulled out a long coil of rope that had knots tied in it and took turns with Ronon tossing it up until it finally went over a branch. "We'll tie the packs to the rope. Teyla you go first then McKay, then me and Ronon. We'll pull the packs up afterward. McKay, can you do this?"

"Imminent death." He said seriously. "I can do it." Under his breath he added, "I hate heights."

Sheppard nodded. Teyla began climbing. Halfway up she wrapped her foot and hand around the rope and paused to catch her breath. After a few seconds, she continued on. When she reached the branch she took a deep breath, scanned it for handholds. Thankfully, the branch was knobby and had smaller branches growing from it.

With a grunt, she began hauling herself up. Gradually, she pulled herself on top of the giant tree branch. While waiting for Rodney to get to the top she faced the tree trunk and looked at the spacious nest formed by the four way split. If they tied themselves to the tree, they wouldn't fall even if the did somehow roll out. They just had to get around this part of the trunk.

"Crap," was all McKay said before he grabbed the rope and began to climb. He had to stop twice on the way up, but he did make it to the top. Now the difficult part of getting on top of the branch. Teyla had tied herself to the tree branch; now she leaned over. "Rodney do you want me to help pull you up?"

"Yes," he grunted, too exhausted to be offended or prickly.

Teyla grabbed his shirt and when he found hand holds she pulled as he did. With a groan, he flopped on top of the branch. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Teyla wiped her forehead and leaned against the tree.

Soon Sheppard came into view and Teyla helped him over the edge as well. She untied herself, gave herself more rope and retied the rope around her waist. "Do not let me fall." She said firmly to Sheppard and McKay and after they were secured to the branch and had a grip on her rope she stepped out onto the rough, knobby surface of the tree her fingers clinging to the rough bark of the tree.

She cautiously found footholds and eventually pulled herself into the cradle collapsing in relief.

She heard Ronon swarming up the rope and up onto the branch. She wrapped her rope around another branch. Ronon pulled the packs up and swung them over to her. "Colonel, you should come next." She said, bracing herself to take his weight. "I could use you on this side to steady the rope."

With a grunt, Sheppard slid a hand and shoulder under the rope and started over. He slid his head under the rope and felt a little safer with the rope holding him to the trunk. Slowly, cautiously he edged his way over into the cradle. McKay was going to freak, he thought.

"McKay, you're next."

And there it was. "I can't do it. I know I need too, but I can't."

"McKay." Ronon rumbled in the dark.

"No! I did not sign on for this stuff. Rickety bridges, logs over canyons, running from villagers, torture, wild hybrid dogs, dinosaurs! I'm a scientist not special ops!"

"McKay," Sheppard replied, a disembodied voice in the dark. "Believe me, none of us had this crap in our contracts."

"Yes, well I'm sure that you had some knowledge that people would be shooting at you! I'm suppose to be in a lab, researching Ancient technology not playing Tarzan on an alien world in the dark!"

"We could trade you for Zelenka or Kusanagi…"

Rodney snorted. "Right. Zelenka you'd have to drag through the Gate and Miko would _faint_ at the first sign of danger."

"Fine, then, you're stuck on the team. Now get over here." Sheppard sounded exasperated.

"I can't see and what if the bark breaks or my foot slips."

"Take your time. You've done harder things than this." Ronon met his fears with a patience that would have surprised many.

"No, I haven't."

"Sure you have." Sheppard called out.

"Really? Name one thing." McKay ranted.

Everyone knew he wasn't trying to difficult. He had reached the end of his rope, he was tired and terrified.

"You stood up to Koyla." Sheppard offered.

"MJ9-625," Teyla replied. "You scaled the cliff face with those big birds swooping around us and you had cracked ribs."

"You took the enzyme to try and rescue us; helped us retake Atlantis from the Asurans." Ronon added.

Silence settled as Rodney tried to find an argument.

"Rodney," Ronon's murmur was barely audible. You can do this, because I won't leave you on this branch by yourself."

"That is blackmail."

"Yes."

"Fine, if I fall…ummm" McKay's complaint was silenced gently.

"I won't let you fall." Ronon said as he looped a rope around his waist and tied it to a mid-size branch.

"Okay, okay. Since I'm going to be bullied."

"Not bullying. I care about you being safe."

"Oh…….okay. I'm, I'm going now."

The rope shook as McKay slipped under it. It seemed to take forever as he searched blindly for the footholds one step at a time, hands clenching into the bark of the tree until his fingers hurt, muttering 'not going to fall, not going to fall, not hundreds of feet in the air, not going to fall' and then he was in the cradle shaking like a leaf.

The darnkess let him pretend to have privacy and noone bothered him until the shaking stopped. McKay handled danger and terror a lot better these days, but still today had pushed him to his limits with its dinosaurs and flights of terror and giant tree climbing and dangling hundreds of feet in the air over pitch blackness.

They settled into the cradle using their packs as pillows. Too tired to stay awake they decided to trust they were safe since there wasn't any sign of birds nesting here and they all went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

A whooshing sound interrupted the silence. She paused beside the berry bush listening. No high pitch whine so whoever came through the Circle did it on foot. She looked down at the half full bag of berries hunger warring with curiosity.

It had been a very long time since the Circle had let someone in. Curiosity won. Like a swift shadow she moved through the forest after first tossing her bag over a tree branch. She arrived at the clearing in time to see four strangers gather around the dialer and then disappear into the forest.

She made her way quietly through the underbrush using the normal sounds of the forest to mask her movements. She watched as they looked around and made sounds. Not loud, but loud enough to attract attention if they weren't careful. She saw their delight at the tiny grazers. Could they be bad if they took delight in the little ones and didn't try to kill them?

She paused at a distance from them when they stopped to watch the huge horned ones. She heard the slight rustling. Hunters. She saw the short male look at something in his hand then saw understanding and fear dawn, saw him make sounds and get the others to follow him to safety.

When the animals scurried for safety she scampered higher up into a tree. High off the ground; safe. The strangers hid until it was safe and then started making lots of sounds again. They would not last long if they did not learn to be silent. She had learned from a previous encounter not to be too fast to offer help or get near strangers. She would watch from a distance.

They began heading back to the Circle walking in the path created by the horned ones. She ran lightly from limb to limb jumping easily from tree to tree in the huge forest. The ground trembled and she froze. The BIG meat-eater! She ran forward to warn the strangers than she remembered the other male strangers and stopped indecisive.

Just then the shorter male looked at the thing in his hand again and led the others off the path into hiding. She hugged the tree branch and trembled as violently as the ground as the meat-eater came into view. It sniffed the air puzzled at the new smell. Curious and hungry it swung its head and took a step off the path.

From her vantage point she saw the strangers follow the short male as he faded back into the forest staying under growth and dodging around the trees. Cover by cover the short male led his group away from the meat-eater, but the meat-eater was persistent. He kept following the strange smell breaking small felled trees and crushing foliage underneath his feet.

She slowly, cautiously followed staying in the trees watching as they tried to escape the relentless meat-eater. She could tell the short male was getting tired, but he kept going. They went behind an outcropping and over a small rise. More sounds between them and then they were smearing themselves with dirt.

Perhaps they would survive if they had finally decided to mask their smell. They left the small depression which was in no way safe and that's when their luck changed. The meat-eater finally caught sight of them. It roared its dominance and hunger and began running toward them.

The strangers began desperately running. The shorter male followed by the female and then the two other males. She had the impression the others could run faster, but refused to pass the first male.

Seeing the giant toppled tree she hoped they would be smart enough – yes! The short male dove awkwardly under the exposed roots. The female quickly followed him. The other two males hesitated and then followed the first two.

She leaned her head against the rough tree bark and went limp with relief. She may not trust strangers anymore, but she did not want to see and hear them as the meat-eater tore them apart.

The meat-eater growled and roared in frustration as its prey simply dropped off from sight and smell. It trampled the bushes and slammed into nearby trees venting its anger. Finally, it gave up with a loud snort and moved off to find other prey.

She slumped against the tree trunk and waited. Soon the tallest of the strangers emerged and checked the surroundings before allowing the others to emerge. More low sounds! These strangers liked to make noise.

They looked around. Lost. Pleased that she had figured out their actions she settled to watch. The short male looked at the thing he carried in his hand and there was a lot of sounds made then the short male said something to the tallest and with a frustrated look the tallest set off walking back along the path the meat-eater had made.

Intrigued by them now, she followed. Awhile later they stopped and sat to rest and eat. They were all tired she could tell. The tallest helped the shortest to his feet and she cocked her head at the way they acted toward each other. They stood closer than the others did and concern showed on the tallest's face. Low sounds were exchanged and then the tallest gave the others a stern look before they began walking again.

She was hungry and tired. It was getting dark. The strangers were beginning to stumble. Sounds were exchanged and then a rope was tossed into a tree and the strangers made their way up into the tree. She nodded in approval. She could barely make them out in the fast falling night, but she could see the way they made sure each one made it into the hollow, how the tall one calmed the shorter. She also liked how they looked after each other making sure that each was okay and safe.

Perhaps they were not like the others who had hurt her so long ago. She would continue to watch. She would not hurry her decision.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Day 2

They awoke in the morning to raucous bird calls and squirrels' scolding. McKay looked down and paled. It had been bad enough in the dark. In the murky dawn it seemed they were very, very high especially since the fog hid the ground.

He turned away from the disturbing view to see how he could help get them down. Ronon automatically swept Rodney, checking on him. "McKay," concern made his voice sharp as he stepped over and tilted McKay's face sideways to get a better look in the dim light. "You're hurt," he sounded slightly accusing.

"Bruised," McKay shrugged. "It's nothing."

Ronon remembered then McKay's muttered remark under the tree roots. "Where else?" He demanded as his gut clenched at the huge black and blue splotches under McKay's right eye and on his jaw.

"Stop!" McKay glared at him and smacked his hands away. "I got a few bruises yesterday. Considering the possibilities I'm perfectly fine. Now can we get down to solid, if dangerous, ground?"

Ronon thought about pushing the issue for a moment then he recognized the pride in Rodney's eyes. Ronon realized he wouldn't want anyone making a big deal of any of his minor injuries. It was hard not to be overprotective of McKay especially since Sheppard often was. "Fine." He heaved the packs over the edge letting them drop to the ground.

Slowly they made the trip back around the trunk after Ronon lowered the packs to the ground. Sheppard went down first standing against the tree trunk and keeping his eye's peeled for danger. Teyla scrambled down next. Ronon helped McKay over the branch and then watched intently as he made his way awkwardly down the rope. He didn't miss the quickly covered wince. More bruises under his clothes then.

Finally, Ronon lowered himself over the branch and made his way down to the forest floor. He had attached Teyla's rope to the looped end of the one around the branch so when he reached the ground he pulled on Teyla's rope and soon both ropes were pooling on the forest floor.

They all ate power bars as they trudged through the morning forest, fog again swirling around their legs as normal forest life went on around them. They continued to follow the path of yesterday's chase; Ronon having made a directional marker last night to keep them from being confused in the morning.

Two hours later with directional help from the detector they were near the Gate. Just before the Gate came into view McKay hissed, 'stop'. He showed the detector, which he had switched back to predator detector as soon as they had a confirmed direction to the Gate, to them rather than risk being heard.

Between them and the Gate were three life signs that were dodging toward each other and then away. Creeping forward a scene from the movies greeted them. The T-Rex was fighting the two allosaurus for the remains of a huge creature in the middle of the clearing.

"We wait." Sheppard ordered, hunkering down behind giant ferns and trying to get comfortable.

"We wait!" McKay's voice rose with surprise. "Here?" His hands waved around. "Do I need to remind you that our danger increases exponentially the longer we are out here? As much fun as yesterday's obstacle course was, I don't want to repeat it."

"We need to get off this world. They leave. We dial Atlantis."

McKay looked to the huge predators still battling although the T-Rex appeared to be losing against the other two. "Fine, but if they don't leave, we need to find someplace defensible because when darkness falls a whole different set of predators start moving around if you didn't get that from last nights noises."

"What about caves?" Ronon asked.

"Caves would be good." McKay agreed.

"Can you reprogram the detector to find some?" Sheppard asked.

"It's a Life Signs Detector not a geology detector." McKay ranted.

"And you are a genius," Sheppard responded goading McKay. "And that," he pointed at the meat-eaters, "is impending death."

McKay glared at him. Sheppard gazed calmly back at him. "Maybe," is all McKay said before turning his attention to the device. Over his head Ronon, Teyla, and Sheppard exchanged triumphant grins. A 'maybe' from Rodney was as good as a 'yes'.

A few minutes later McKay whispered, "You do realize that if I reconfigure this to a cave detector we won't be able to detect anything coming at us?"

"I think we'll hear the big guy."

"Ummm, yes. Again did you watch Jurassic Park?" He asked like Sheppard was an idiot.

"Yes."

"Okay, those tiny _quiet_ frilly neck lizards. Travels in packs. Tears you apart bite by bite while you scream. Those weren't made up by Hollywood. They really existed. And just for fun let's recall velociraptors. They also run in packs. Stand about two foot tall with clawed feet. Oh, and they don't care if you are dead or not when they take the first bite either."

John paled his whole body going very, very still. "Forgot about them."

"Yes, well, the choice is yours, oh fearless leader." McKay watched him intently waiting for him to decide.

"Reconfigure it." He waited quietly knowing McKay would get them headed to safety.

The T-Rex decided he didn't like the way the battle was going and departed with frustrated roars, bashing a small tree in anger as he passed. The tree canted sideways, but didn't fall over.

The two allosaurus ripped into their hard won meal, growling and chomping and slurping. It was enough to make anyone slightly ill just listening to them.

The sun slowly rose as Rodney muttered and configured and scanned until he finally thought he had something.

"It's difficult to tell with all the thick foliage, but it looks like that direction." He pointed off at an angle past the gate and in the opposite direction than they had originally went.

Without waiting for a response he started moving along the tree line knowing they had to circumvent the clearing before they could begin heading for the cave. He also knew the rest would be right behind him protecting him. His job: solve the problem. Their job: keep him alive to solve the problem. Quite beneficially symbiotic if you thought about it.

It took them an hour to circumvent the clearing without alerting the allosaurus to their presence. Several times their heads had lifted and they had sniffed the air frozen in an alert pose until satisfied they was alone. They would wait several more minutes before daring to move on. None of them wanted another run through the forest like yesterday. Somehow, they doubted they would have the same incredible luck they had had the day before. They were all sweating profusely from the exertion and the humidity before they reached the opposite side of the clearing.

By this time the sun had burned off most of the fog so they had even less cover than before. The up side was that smaller predators also had less cover to hide in. Even though they were all getting tired and thirsty they didn't stop until they were several yards from the clearing.

The forest wasn't quite so dense here and although there was still plenty of shade it was hot. The sunlight fell in broad shafts between the trees to the ground. The uneven ground made walking difficult; down here and up there. Tiny gullies made a twisted ankle a real hazard. Sheppard noticed that McKay was beginning to flag, but that he had that determined look which meant he wouldn't say he was wearing out. No, he would keep silently trying to keep up with them until he just collapsed quietly to the ground. Sheppard stopped beside some moss covered logs and called a ten minute halt.

They all pretended not to hear McKay's muttered, "Thank God." The heat and humidity was being to get to even Ronon and he sank down on a log and took a long pull on his canteen.

"How much further, McKay?" Ronon let his head droop forward.

"About ¾ mile."

"All right," Sheppard said fifteen minutes later. "Let's get going. I'd like to be safe and cozy before night falls."

With moans all around they were on their way. The forest was thinning rapidly which let them move quicker and they picked up the pace slightly, but the ravines and low hills kept them to a moderate pace.

One minute they were alone the next there were hissing frilled lizards on three sides of them. About a foot and a half tall with a large bronze frill fanning out about their faces and hissing menacingly as they swayed in place the lizards looked both dangerous and comical.

"Eight on the right."

They backed away weapons swinging in slow arcs. "Nobody panic." Sheppard murmured. "Maybe they're just curious."

"Seven to the left." Ronon had his gun in one hand and a long knife in the other.

"The cave is in a straight line behind us." McKay informed them softly. "You know we can't out run them, right?" Panic filled his voice, but he continued to aim his gun at the tiny predators with hands that didn't shake - much.

"Nine in front."

One pacing them in the path hissed and ran at them. As if on cue the others leaped forward.

"Crap!" Sheppard yelled.

Teyla fired her semi-automatic at the ones to the right while Sheppard fired at the ones in the path. Ronon and McKay shot to the left. All the while backing down the path.

Teyla finished the ones on her side and swung around to help Sheppard just as Ronon snarled in pain. She looked over her shoulder to see him shooting at the ones jumping at his face while trying to dislodge one from his leg.

The frilled lizard tilted its head back to take another bite when its body flew sideways and twitched. Ronon flicked a look at McKay. "Thanks" he grunted as he shot another one.

"No problem," McKay said shakily as he jerked another shot off in instinctive response to another lizard leaping at him. The shot went wide just barely grazing the lizard and Ronon shot it.

Another burst of fire from Sheppard and he said, "That looks like all of them." Then he looked up the path where a light pattering was heard.

"Run." They ran flat out as fast as McKay could run. He ran faster than he thought he could run. He always ran faster in the field than he did in Atlantis. "Adrenaline," he would say whenever Ronon asked him about it and Ronon would chuckle.

Teyla and Sheppard let loose volleys of ammo behind them as they ran. "Where did they come from?" Sheppard yelped as he mowed down more of the little lizards.

"Does it matter?" Teyla responded sending a volley of her own.

Sheppard glanced back saw a huge mass of them chasing them. "Forget this," he growled and pulled a grenade off his vest. Pulling the pin, he counted to three and tossed it. His experience showed as the grenade landed right in the middle of them and exploded sending frilly lizards flying.

Apparently, the few remaining had enough and stopped screaming frustration and hunger at the humans as the four of them kept running.

Twenty tension filled minutes later they stopped where the scanner indicated the cave should be. At first, they didn't see it, then Sheppard noticed a dark hole against the side of a steep hill hidden behind a cascade of thick vegetation. They stopped at a felled tree. Collapsing against the mossy bark and breathing harshly as they all tried to catch their breaths.

Cautiously, they approached. Brushing the vegetation aside they tried unsuccessfully to see into the interior.

"Want me to check it out?" Ronon volunteered glancing at Sheppard.

"One of us has to." Sheppard commented casually then flicked a glance at Ronon's leg. "You're injured. I'll do it."

"If you will wait," McKay said testily, chest heaving from exertion. "I can convert this back to life signs and then no one will need to fight cave bears or whatever else might have made this cave a den."

"And I will check your leg while he is doing so." Teyla told Ronon in a voice that brooked no argument.

"Its nothing." Ronon replied as she knelt down and pushed up his legging.

"Never is," Rodney muttered earning a dark glare. Retreating to the far side of one of the giant trees McKay collapsed on the roots in exhaustion and let his head fall back against the tree.

"Here." He opened his eyes to see a power bar and a canteen of water thrust at him. Putting the detector down on the rough bark next to him he took the offerings with a grunt of thanks.

"It could get infected." Teyla stated pulling out her first aid kit and dowsing a cotton pad with a liquid antiseptic.

Ronon hissed as she dabbed the bite with the stinging liquid. He hated that stuff. It felt like wet fire on his torn skin. "Just bandage it," he hissed gritting his teeth to keep from crying out.

"There," Teyla wrapped a sterile bandage around his leg. "That is all I can do."

A few minutes later while his team mates kept their eyes peeled and senses alert for danger he set about the task of converting the detector back to its original function. Finally, he gave a sound of satisfaction and stood up. "Okay then let's check it out." He moved toward the entrance pushing a button here and there adjusting signal strength to compensate for the rock density.

"Well?" Ronon asked impatiently.

McKay glanced up at him. "It only goes a few yards in, but I can't detect anything living."

"Well," Sheppard said with an easy smile, "let's check it out." He flipped his P-90's scope light on and stepped into the cave. Ronon followed his gun out and a pen light in the other hand. Teyla waited until Rodney flicked on his flashlight and entered before following suit.

The cave was cool and dry making them all sigh in relief as the temperature dropped a good ten degrees within a few feet of the entrance. A slight breeze fanned their faces indicating another entrance somewhere. The deeper they went, slowly scanning for any residents, the cooler it got. Sheppard and Ronon went down the middle with Teyla and Rodney inspecting the sides.

About twelve feet into the cave, just as they were beginning to relax, McKay called out softly. "I think we have company." The sound of three weapons being brought to bear and chambered echoed off the cave walls. "What the…?" McKay asked startled at their reactions. He took in the weapons aimed in his direction. "Let me rephrase. I found evidence," he pointed at the cave floor, "that someone else is on the planet."

At his feet was a fire ring, two wooden containers of water, what looked to be a mid-size wooden chest, a large mound of dry grass and fern fronds, a couple of tattered blankets and a several cured animal hides. Off to the side was a stack of dried wood.

"If someone else has been trapped here, John we need to offer our help." Teyla said firmly.

"We don't know they are trapped here. It may be their home." John replied evasively.

Teyla frowned at him. "This doesn't look much like a home."

"In your opinion. On my world we have people called hermits. They live like this," he waved into the cave, "on purpose because they don't want to be bothered by other people. They get upset if you approach them."

Teyla glared at him and turned back toward Ronon and McKay.

"Hey," McKay called out when they got closer. "Food locker." He pointed to the chest. Two compartments. Quite ingenious. Dried meat in one; dried fruit in the other. And get this," he reached into the chest and held up three battered utensils, "sporks."

"Sporks?" Teyla queried, confused. She thought she knew the Earth language well by now, but she had never heard of sporks.

"A combination spoon and fork." Sheppard informed her abstractedly. "Those are metal. How could someone on a primitive world like this have something like that?"

"Good question." Rodney replied, having no more clue than the others.

"Fire's still hot; coals covered to keep them alive through the day." Ronon informed them.

They all looked at Sheppard. "Any other caves nearby?" He asked McKay.

McKay shook his head. "Not any big enough for all of us."

Sheppard grimaced. "Then we have no choice. We stay here and apologize nicely for the intrusion when the owner shows up."

"We should search for them." Teyla continued her argument.

"No, we shouldn't." Sheppard held up his hand to silence her and she snapped her mouth shut. "Look, Teyla they apparently have been here for awhile. They most likely know we are here and we most likely won't see any sign of them unless they want us to."

"I could track them." Ronon said slightly offended.

"I'm sure you could, Big Guy and they could lead you right into the hunting grounds of those huge dinosaurs. We stay here."

"Surely, we can go back by now." Ronon groused, turning away from the entrance. He had been studying the vegetation noticing that the vines and greenery had been woven together forming a barrier a little less flimsy than the vines would have naturally been. Crudely carved wooden stakes at the corners of the opening would let someone peg down the woven greenery keeping out the merely curious. Whoever this person was they had survived this world for many years.

"Don't think so." McKay retorted superiorly.

"They can't still be eating." Ronon replied edgily. He hated waiting; enforced inaction didn't sit well with him and his leg hurt.

"No but their mates or buddies or little ones or just scavengers cleaning up after their leavings can be, but don't let me stop you from being an idiot." McKay replied sharply.

All three of his team mates looked at him with varying degrees of surprise and aggravation. Not that he didn't have a wickedly sharp tongue and felt free to use it whenever he wished, but he just didn't usually use it on Ronon.

Ronon rose swiftly stalking over to loom over Rodney. Rodney backed up a step. "I'm going to go scout." Ronon snarled and stormed out of the cave.

"Are you okay, Rodney?" Teyla asked a couple of hours later seriously concerned noticing for the first time the pallor and slight shakiness he was evincing.

"We've nearly been trampled by stampeding triceratops, nearly killed twice by meat-eating dinosaurs, ran for our lives twice, spent the night in a giant tree, have made a two hour forced march in high heat and humidity, are cut off from the Gate, have at least one unknown cave person on the loose, we are hiding in a very small dark cave and I've pissed off Ronon. No," he snapped looking up at her, "I'm not okay!"

He jumped up and headed for the cave entrance for fresh air and to relieve the claustrophobic feeling that had been increasing the longer he remained deep in the cave. His team remained silent giving him space to calm down and get a hold of himself.

_Stomach growling, walls closing in, stale air of course he wasn't alright. And Ronon the Barbarian wanted to turn around ten minutes after they got here and head back. Okay, maybe it had been longer than ten minutes, but he was still recovering from the sheer terror from earlier. He couldn't believe he had snapped at Ronon that way! He knew Ronon would take it and give him that stoic glare in front of others, but later, later he'd make Rodney feel guilty for taking it out on him._

The area in front of him moved sickeningly; rushing in and then falling dizzyingly away and swirling in huge circles. _Oh no! Nonononono, he would not fa…pass out. Not here; not now!_

When they heard the dull thump of his body hitting the cave floor they raced toward him, weapons sweeping the area. Teyla remained on guard as they reached him while Sheppard knelt at his side.

"McKay?" He quickly scanned him for injuries. He didn't seem to have been hit by anything. "Rodney?" He rolled him over on his back eyes taking in the sheen of sweat, the pallor, the twitchy hands.

"Hypoglycemic ass," he muttered. "Why didn't you say you needed to eat?" He pulled out the small vial of sugar water Carson had gave him when he expressed concern about what to do if Rodney passed out from his condition. They couldn't force food down his unconscious throat so Carson had given them each a double insulated vial of sugar water. He would automatically swallow the liquid and the sugar should be enough to get him conscious so they could get food into him.

He pulled out the stopper, slid his hand under Rodney's head and tilted it up slightly and slowly, gently poured the liquid into his mouth. Rodney coughed a little, but swallowed. Encouraged, Sheppard poured a little more in and muttered, "That's it buddy, get some sugar into your system."

Five agonizingly slow minutes passed before Rodney's eyes fluttered open then sank shut again with a faint moan. "Swallow the rest." Sheppard urged tipping the vial and letting the remainder of the sugar water slide into Rodney's mouth.

His throat worked convulsively as he swallowed. "What're you pouring down my throat, Sheppard?" he groused, licking his lips and smacking his mouth. "Argh! It's gross!" He struggled to sit up.

Sheppard supported him; helping him sit up and moving slightly behind him to brace his back. "You passed out cold, McKay. When was the last time you ate?"

"Power bar this morning and when we got here." Rodney slurred.

Sheppard sighed and glanced at Teyla. "And yesterday?"

"Huh? I ate yesterday! Power bars, MREs." Rodney rubbed his head. "Maybe not enough with all the running for our lives and giant tree climbing that we did." He admitted grudgingly.

Without a word two power bars landed in his lap. He looked up startled and was, as always, surprised to see concern and genuine worry in their eyes. He looked back down at the power bars. His favorite peanut butter and chocolate.

"Just eat, McKay." Sheppard replied curtly, hiding the intense panic he always felt when his best friend pulled a stunt like this.

Rodney unwrapped one bar and pretty much inhaled it. Sheppard helped him move over to the cave wall before he opened the second one. Teyla brought over a water container and watched worriedly until he drank deeply then she and Sheppard finished it off.

He had stopped twitching by the time Ronon reappeared. He had some small animal already skinned and gutted. He strode past Rodney without a glance.

"Teyla, could you get the fire going?" He snatched up the second water container and drank, long and deep.

"Of course," she replied quietly. She added small twigs to the fire ring tucking some tinder she had found under them next to the hot coals. When the twigs caught fire she added a couple of logs.

Meanwhile, Ronon threaded chunks of meat onto a long skewer. When Teyla nodded, he handed her one end and they balanced the skewer on the crossed branches on either side of the pit.

Soon the smell of roasting meat filled the cave. "Umm, Ronon what is that?" Sheppard asked.

"Don't ask. Just eat. We need protein." He cast a subtle look at Rodney who hadn't moved from his seat against the wall. He knew that if McKay was snapping at him then he was definitely needing to eat because he wasn't usually that stupid.

As soon as the meat was done, Ronon pushed the hot morsels off the spit into the empty water container and handed them to Teyla then he proceeded to spear more of the meat and placed it over the fire.

Teyla took the meat over to Rodney who just looked at it distrustfully. "No, that's okay. You and Sheppard go ahead."

"Rodney…."

"No, please, just…no."

Teyla frowned, but went over and sat near Sheppard who was sitting near the entrance where he could look out past the covering.

Silently and at first cautiously they ate. After the first bite of surprisingly delicious piece they nearly groaned as they quickly polished off the remains.

Teyla returned the container to Ronon and went to sit opposite Sheppard and watched with him. Ronon cooked up the rest of the meat then he moved quietly over to Rodney placing the container between them. He sat there without a word or a glance, just eating.

Before long McKay sighed and started eating as well mumbling about alien parasites and unsanitary food preparation. Ronon chuckled and bumped his shoulder lightly against Rodney's. Rodney threw him a tiny, fleeting smile and leaned his head back against the wall, eyes shut.

A movement caught Sheppard's attention across the small glade. "Company." He said softly.

Teyla shifted her view point just in time to see a lithe shadow disappear into the brush. They stared in silence for a moment then Sheppard slowly asked, "Was that a girl?"

"I think so." Teyla replied hesitantly scowling into the foliage.

McKay looked around the cave and then at his friends. "What's a young girl doing on a world like this alone?"

"That is what I'd like to know." Sheppard responded in a hard voice that they all had come to recognize as 'I'm not leaving until I find out.'

"I'll see if she left tracks." Ronon said in a resigned voice and cautiously headed toward the spot the girl had been standing.

Rodney was feeling stable and guilty by the time Ronon returned a short time later. His face a mixture of contempt and distress. It took him only a few minutes to share the reasons for both.

"She wasn't hard to track. She made no attempt to hide her trail. Doubt she knows how. Her trail lead off to the left and then further into the hills behind the cave. She left this." He held out a small leather pouch full of berries. "We have to find her, Sheppard."

Sheppard and McKay gave him a look of unbelief. "What?" "Why?" "All we have to do is get out of here in one piece, Ronon."

Ronon shook his head, mind made up. "You don't get it. Her tracks are everywhere some very, very old and faint." He met Sheppard's gaze. "No others anywhere and I looked. She's young and she's alone and has been probably for years."

"Alright. We search for her, but I doubt we catch her if she doesn't want to be caught. She knows this world and how to hide or she wouldn't still be alive."

"You know this means we'll be here all night." McKay stated matter-of-factly. Three blank faces looked over at him. He threw his hands in the air. "We got to the gate mid-morning spent an hour or so waiting, another hour or so getting here that would be lunch time-ish." He held up four fingers up. "We've been in this cave a couple of hours. If, if we eat and headed back toward the Gate - another two hours to get there. It would be six, seven o'clock. All goes well we're back in Atlantis for dinner. We go after this wild girl and it will be dark before we get anywhere near the Gate and I for one would not recommend trekking out in the unknown," he pointed outside, "after dark."

"Perhaps, if the dark is so dangerous here, she will return to the cave."

Teyla suggested.

"Not if we're here."

"But if she thinks we have left." Teyla smiled deviously.

"Maybe." Ronon said thoughtfully. "We track her awhile and then act like we give up and leave. Head toward the Gate and then circle back here. We trap her in the cave."

"Sounds like a plan." Sheppard replied.

They gathered their packs and followed Ronon out of the cave. "She was there." He pointed to some giant ferns and some type of flowering plants. "When she saw us watching her she bolted that way he pointed to the left. "Made a wide arc and ended up on the other side of this hill." He pointed toward the hill the cave was in. "I came back straight over the hill. Saves time."

"Let's go." Sheppard started up the hill. Ronon walked beside him until they reached the top. There they stopped and waited for Teyla and McKay to catch up to them. McKay climbed grabbing the saplings to help maintain his balance. They were all glad to see his hands had quit shaking and he had color back in his face.

Ronon pointed off to his right. "I never saw it, but I heard a waterfall in that direction. I also saw animal tracks, cloven hoof , grazers."

McKay reached the top and breathed deeply, catching his breath before pulling out the life signs detector. "Not much use in pinpointing the girl, but I can tell you nothing is hiding anywhere near us. We should at least get to the bottom of the hill without becoming dinner."

He started down and the others hurried to get themselves in front of and beside him. He chuckled a little. Five years in the field; five years of training and they still surrounded him like it was his first day with them. He didn't complain though since after five years of training he wasn't anywhere near their league. He did take perverse fun out of watching them scramble when he just took off like that though.

The landscape began changing. The trees were downright sparse now and vegetation was low growing and spread out looking more like a modern day forest except for the sheer size of the trees. Many of the tree trunks split low, like oak trees, the branches curving downward some of them barely clearing the ground. The trees were still fairly tall, but looked easier to climb with the multi-branching trucks and branches.

The land leveled out after a couple more little rolling hillocks becoming a large savannah interspersed with oak trees and pine trees and magnolias. His mind automatically tagging them Earth equivalent names even though he knew they weren't exactly that. Scraggly brush and palmetto type bushes dotted the expanse. A shimmering ribbon of water sparkled in the distance.

McKay squinted at the animals that were browsing on the savannah. They were some distance away, but he thought, yes, brachiosaurus herds. He pulled out his binoculars staring intently at what had to be stegosaurus herds. Interspersed were herds of small deer-like animals grazing in the relative safety of the huge animals shadows.

"McKay, would you like to rejoin the field trip?" Sheppard asked sarcastically.

"In a minute," McKay muttered absently. "Amazing, absolutely amazing." He heard put upon sighs and lowered his binoculars. "You don't find them…awe inspiring?"

"Find what awe-inspiring?" Ronon asked indifferently.

"Brachiosaurus. Up to eighty-two feet long and fifty-two feet tall. Fifty-two! Even Rex won't attack them unless they are old and decrepit."

"Long-necks?" Sheppard's eyes lit up and he hurried back up the slope pulling out his own binoculars. "Wow. They are so cool. And stegosaurus!" He and Rodney shared goofy grins before offering binoculars to Teyla and Ronon.

"They are impressive." Teyla said jerking the binoculars out of John's reach so she could continue to watch them.

"Yeah, cool." Ronon handed the binoculars back to McKay after a long moment. "Girl, predators, nightfall."

"Oh, yeah, right." Sheppard and McKay put the binoculars away and started down the hill.

They tracked her for over an hour sometimes Ronon would pretend to lose her trail only to finally 'find' it again just in case she was watching them. Eventually, he growled in frustration. "Might as well head back now if we want to be gone before dark."

"What about the girl?" Sheppard asked. "We just leave her here?"

"Lost the track." Ronon shrugged. He had. The track seemed to disappear. He had no doubt he could find it again, but it would be dark soon and even he felt edgy about being out in the open here after dark.

"I agree, Colonel Sheppard," Teyla added her support to Ronon. "We should head back. I for one will be glad to get a shower and a decent meal."

"Fine, but I don't like it."

"Sheppard," Ronon stopped on the hillside and knelt looking at something on the ground.

Sheppard moved to his side. Ronon pointed at tracks pressed into the soft soil. "Looks like a large feline." He looked at Sheppard and McKay questioningly. It sometimes amazed him how much diverse things these two men knew.

They both looked confused. "Miniature deer and now felines? There were no mammals during the dinosaur age." Sheppard said accusingly glaring at Rodney.

"What? This is my fault somehow?" He responded bewildered at the glare.

"Yes, Rodney. Mixed up Earth eras on an alien planet are somehow your fault."

"Well, quit glaring at me then!"

Teyla sighed. "Whether or not it should be here apparently it is. Do either of you know what it could be?"

John and Rodney stared at other possibilities flickering across their faces until finally Rodney offered, "Saber-tooth?"

"That's the only ancient feline I can come up with." Sheppard agreed. "This throws open a whole new list of possible dangers." He growled.

"Saber-tooth tigers, giant apes, wolverines, bears, prehistoric wolves…" McKay's voice trailed off as he stared into the shadows.

"Let's go." Sheppard commanded, fear actually flickering through his usually impassive eyes. "And look for defensive positions."

Ronon and Teyla nodded and McKay swallowed hard. There position was tenuous if Sheppard was showing fear and Ronon wasn't sneering at it. So, right, defensive positions from Tyrannosaurus Rex and Saber-tooth tigers. He sighed, only in the Pegasus Galaxy.

They slowly tramped back toward the hills. Ronon was actually limping a little Teyla noticed and made a note to check his leg even if he argued.

They didn't go near the cave, but scanned it with the detector on their way back to the Gate. No one there. Thirty minutes later they put their wilderness training to good use and ghosted back toward the cave. They stopped a good distance from the cave and hunkered down against a tree that had several logs around it to give some protection.

Then they waited. And waited. And waited relying on the life signs detector to tell them when she returned to the cave. They could smell the cooked meat. Their mouths watered at the smell. She didn't return.

It was getting dark and everyone was beginning to get nervous. If she didn't show up soon they would have to return to the cave for their own protection. It was full dark before Sheppard finally gave the order to return to the cave for the night.

"She was here." McKay stated in disgust. "She was here while we were tramping around tracking her."

"What makes you think that?" Sheppard asked dubiously.

McKay shook his head. "I left a power bar there." He pointed to the chest. "It's gone and so is the rest of the meat."

Ronon, Teyla, and Sheppard traded glances. She had outsmarted them and took their dinner. Sheppard sighed. "McKay and I'll take first watch."

Ronon and Teyla nodded. "I wish to check your injury." Teyla said standing in front of Ronon with the first aid kit in hand.

"I'm fine." He moved to the bed of ferns.

"You're limping." Teyla replied calmly kneeling in front of him and tugging his pant leg up. He frowned, but made no move to stop her. It really did hurt.

Teyla frowned at the irritated looking wound. "Take these," she shook two aspirin out of a bottle and handed them to him. He swallowed them dry and waited for them to take effect as she doused another cotton pad with antiseptic and dabbed his leg in fire.

"Argghh!" He clenched his teeth aware that Sheppard and McKay were now watching, concern written on their faces.

Teyla glanced over at them. "It is irritated, but not infected yet. I think he will be fine if we get back to Atlantis tomorrow."

Silently, they ate the last of the MREs heated next to the fire so they were a little better than usual and then they ate the berries she had left them then Teyla lay down next to Ronon on the primitive bed and both were asleep within minutes.

"I still don't know how they do that." McKay muttered.

"Me neither." Sheppard admitted. "That's why I take first watch. It'd be time for me to stand watch before I'd get to sleep."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

They would sleep through the night. She could go get her berries and go to the cave for the night. Careful not to lose her balance in the pitch dark she moved cautiously using her years of experience to help her move safely through the night forest. It wasn't long before her eyes adjusted and she could make out the shapes of the trees and the small movements of the animals that came out after dark. A shadow passed quickly over the ground, a winged hunter looking for squeakers. An inky shadow moving fluidly through the bushes and ferns, a big cat. After so many years alone her mind automatically cataloged what she heard and saw so that many times she made decisions without ever consciously thinking about it. Tonight she traveled in the trees as much as possible.

Two hours later she was snagging her bag of berries from the tree branch. She opened the bag and grimaced, the little ones and gotten in and ate half her berries. She sighed. Enough for tonight and first meal. She headed for the cave. She actually felt safer at night. The big cats were out, but the green meat-eaters, big and small, were asleep and the cats had learned to stay out of her cave where the hot light lived.

She ate some dried meat and berries too tired to make a stew and drank thirstily. She did however build the fire and used vines to tie the growing vegetation down on each side before curling up on her bed. What were they doing here? What did they want? Questions tumbled inside her head and something else tugged at her as she was falling asleep: loneliness. Perhaps they would not be eaten. Perhaps with their loud things they would survive. Maybe, maybe she would not be alone anymore.

The next morning she took her water containers with her to the falls and filled them with fresh water. With a grin she dove into the water. Nothing bad lived in the water and the meat-eaters all hated getting in it. She swam. Long, languid strokes that carried her across the pool and back until she flipped onto her back and floated lazily.

She sighed as she thought about the day. She needed to hunt. Small game would do today since she wanted to keep an eye on the strangers, but before long she needed to take the time to kill something big that she could smoke and save deep in the cool cave. She should go back to the berry bushes and get more for tonight and if she wanted a stew she needed to dig up some root vegetables.

She dropped the water back at the cave, banked the fire. She figured they would be awake and moving by now. Surely, though, they would be extra careful today.

She was hunting the small grass eater when she heard sharp sounds from the direction of the Circle, but very close. The strangers! She hadn't thought to check on them today with her belly growling. She ran toward the sounds. She skidded to a stop. The strangers were being chased by the littlest, but vicious meat-eaters. She could not help them against these things. The only thing to do was outrun them or get high in a tree.

Every so often two of the strangers would turn and point things at the meat-eaters and loud, fast sounds would come from them and some of the meat-eaters would fall down and not get up. Then the male tossed something at them and there was a huge ear hurting sound and meat-eaters flew through the air and landed, dead.

The strangers raced on out of her sight. She stayed where she was until her ears quit ringing and she could hear rightly again. Who were these strangers? She had never seen anyone like them or their things before. Nor had she ever seen so many at one time. One or two came through the Circle. Some lasted a few days, but most no more than two or three days before they were killed by the meat-eaters.

She went the way they went. She stopped at the edge of her clearing. Trepidation rose inside her when she realized they were in her cave. How long would they stay there and dare she return even after they left. If they caught her in the cave, she would be trapped. She hunkered down inside a large bush and prepared to wait. She was about ready to go hunt something to eat when she heard loud angry sounds and the tallest stormed out of the cave and stalked off into the forest.

He was fierce looking reminding her of the big cats with his deadly grace and direct gaze. Not wanting to risk him spotting her she stayed where she was. The vines had been pushed aside slightly when he had left and she could see into the cave slightly. She saw the shortest walk to the cave opening and then collapse. The other two appeared quickly and the other male poured something down his throat.

Soon the short male was sitting up making disgusted sounds. They propped him against the cave wall and gave him something small to eat. He needed more food than that. She began to back out of the bush. The tallest appeared without warning at the edge of the glade causing her to freeze with a small sound of surprise. He looked around as if he had heard her and then shook his head and went into the cave. She noticed he was carrying a small skinned animal. Good food for the shortest. It would give him strength. She would gather sweet berries and leave them in the open for them to find.

She hurried to the berry bush and filled her small bag. Her fingers were stained a deep purple by the time she was finished and her belly was full as she ate almost as many as she bagged. She returned to the cave and slithered to the edge of the ferns. She pushed the bag into the opening. How to get them to come get the berries? She gnawed her lip. She didn't want to get to close, but the shortest needed fresh food and the sweet berries gave you energy.

She stood up slowly between two huge ferns. She saw one of the strangers spot her and then the female was looking at her. Turning she slipped into the forest. She hurried around the clearing and over the hillside. She was going to circle around and come at the cave from the other side when she realized she was leaving very clear footprints. Not wanting to be caught, she weaved between the trees in wide arcs, sometimes she would clamber up on a boulder and leap as far as she could or climb a tree when several were close enough to cross over before dropping to the ground.

Then she returned to the cave. Sure enough, they were gone. She scouted the area in the concentration of someone who had eluded the meat-eaters for years before entering her home. She looked around, but they had taken all their things with them. Sighing, she ate some of the berries then she stopped chewing.

Slowly she arose and approached the strange item on her food container. It was some of the strangers food. She turned it over and over in her hands. She sniffed it, but it didn't smell like food then she remembered that the short stranger had tore the covering off before he ate his. Carefully, she tore open the covering and sniffed. Her eyes shut in pleasure as the strange, but wonderful smell filled her nose. She nibbled the food and gasped at the amazing taste. She had nothing to compare it to, but she liked it.

Grinning widely, she took another bite. The short male understood gifting. She gave them berries; he gave her this food. She took the rest of her dried meat and some of the berries and put them in her other small bag. She needed to leave before they returned. Just because he gave her a gift didn't mean she wanted to be trapped by them.

She headed toward the waterfall and the cave behind it. Not her favorite place to spend the night. The roaring water not only deafened her, but it also left her damp and chilled by morning. Well, her other choice was to sleep wedged high in the split trunk of a tree. She would take damp over wedged.

She dangled her feet in the water as she sat on the ledge behind the falls and thought of the gift-giver. Brave and smart and alert enough to keep them from being surprised by the meat-eaters and generous. She took the last bit of strange food and chewed slowly. Yes, with the gift-giver helping them perhaps this time the strangers would not die.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Day 3

Thankfully, they had an uneventful night if you discounted the frightening roars and howls and terrifying shrieks and gurgling sounds that pieced the night with regularity. Sometime around midnight they woke Ronon and Teyla reported that nothing had happened except the noises and then dropped off to sleep themselves.

Teyla woke them just as dawn was breaking. "She's out there."

"What?" They jumped up instantly awake.

"Caught just a glimpse or two." Ronon informed them. "Showed up as night began fading. She holed up somewhere safe last night. She's smart."

"Well, she'd have to be to survive on this planet now wouldn't she?" McKay snapped, his usual morning mood made worse by the lack of caffeine.

Ronon just gave him an understanding look and turned back to the forest. "Guess so."

"Teyla, maybe you could talk to her. Let her know we just want to help." Sheppard said grasping for straws. He really did not want to leave someone on this world alone if he could help it.

Teyla looked doubtful, but walked out just past the mouth of the cave. "We mean you no harm." She said in a loud conversational voice. "We just want to help. We came through the Ancestral Ring and would like to take you with us if you'd like to come."

She glanced around and saw a flicker off to the right. "You should not have to live alone and in danger. We can provide food and safety and companionship. Please come out and talk to us."

Nothing moved in the forest. She stood and waited while the world came to life around her. Rustlings over head, birds calling to each other, day critters coming out of nests and burrows.

Finally, she turned and re-entered the cave giving them a slow shake of her head. "She is out there, but won't respond."

"Alright then we have no choice. Let's go. We'll leave her a few power bars maybe she'll change her mind before we get through the Gate."

McKay put the food on the chest and shouldered his pack. Sheppard hefted his pack and when everyone was ready they trooped out and headed back to the gate.

They were walking down a slope when Ronon stopped and turned studying the slope to their left. The feeling of being watched was strong. There! At the top of the slope. She was lying down watching them, only her head showing.

She stood slowly staring back at him. She was average height and lean with straight, jet black hair. The clothes she wore were tattered, barely more than scraps of cloth covering very little. She pointed toward the Gate and shook her head in a negative.

"I don't think she wants us going back to the clearing." Ronon said.

She began to slowly back away stopping before she disappeared from view, watching them. They watched her back not wanting to scare her off, but not sure what she wanted them to do.

She stepped toward them, wariness and fear showing clearly on her face. She looked in the direction of the Gate again then back at them an internal struggle obvious on her openly expressive face then she stiffened. Throwing them a panicked look she motioned for them to follow her and began backing away.

"I think we should follow her, Colonel." Teyla voiced her opinion.

Sheppard glanced toward the Gate and hot showers and then up at the girl who was beginning to look frantic. "I agree."

They moved quickly up the slope and she retreated. She flitted ahead of them through the woods never letting them close the distance between them, but never disappearing from view.

"Are you sure this is wise?" Rodney asked. "She could be leading us into a trap."

"What? You think she's a mass murderer or perhaps a cannibal?" Sheppard asked, egging him on.

Ronon and Teyla exchanged long suffering glances.

"Oh, great! Thanks, Colonel! Like I needed to worry that something else on this world wanted to eat me!"

Sheppard just smirked and kept walking.

She pushed past some giant leaves and disappeared. They looked at each other and hurried forward. Guardedly, they brushed back the large foliage and stepped out onto the rocky bank of a large stream.

She had moved upstream a ways and was watching them skittishly. They held still waiting to see what she would do next. Gracefully, she moved to the bank and knelt keeping one eye on them she scooped up a handful of water and drank.

"Agghh!" Rodney exclaimed. "Does she know how many bacteria could be in that water?"

"She lives here, Rodney." Sheppard replied curtly. "Apparently, the water is safe to drink if she hasn't died yet."

"It's good." Ronon informed them, having knelt down and drank some himself.

"What? Are you crazy?" Rodney yelped.

"Thirsty?" Ronon asked him.

"Yes."

"Then drink."

"I am not going to…"

"Drink." Ronon growled, surging to his feet.

Rodney blinked at him seeing the worry in his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll drink."

He knelt gingerly and scooped up some water. Screwing his face up in disgust he sipped the water. "There, I…"

Ronon snarled in frustration. "Okay, okay." Rodney got another handful and drank. It was really good; fresh, clean, sharp and deliciously cool and after a slight hesitation Rodney scooped up more.

After they had drank and filled their canteens they moved slowly toward her. Something flickered in her eyes and she backed away. Turning she lead them nimbly upstream.

It wasn't long before they heard a muted roaring that grew louder as they progressed. It was a thunderous sound by the time they came around the bend in the stream and saw it. A waterfall that was several hundred feet high. Not a single waterfall, but several smaller ones they realized as they watched the water cascading over the cliff edge to fall to a narrow pool before flowing down to the next one and the next before falling the last thirty or forty feet to the large pool before them.

She stood at the base of the falls, the spray drenching her. She waited until she had their attention and then stepped behind the falls. They looked at each other and ran forward. Sure enough there was a small ledge leading behind the waterfall.

They moved forward making sure of there footing before taking the next step not wanting to slip on the slick ledge. An opening to their left resolved itself into a small cave. She stood near the far edge watching them appear then she swiftly dove through the falls and was gone.

"Well," Sheppard said nonplussed, "I guess this is the end of the trail."

"She is showing up hiding places." Teyla murmured, looking around the small cave.

"She's protecting us?" Ronon asked incredulously.

"Yes, I believe so." Teyla replied with a smile.

"Huh." Rodney looked around. "I guess if we were going to be staying, knowing the bolt holes would be useful."

"Yeah, but we aren't staying." Sheppard said firmly. "Let's get back to the Gate."

They cautiously made their way back to the Gate breathing a sigh of relief when they arrived at the Gate in the early afternoon without running into anything dangerous although they did run into signs of dinosaurs crossing the path they would have taken that morning to the Gate. They traded looks. Protecting them, not wanting them eaten, but not trusting them to get close either.

"Dial the Gate." Sheppard ordered hating leaving the girl here. Maybe they could come back and search for her later.

McKay punched in the gate address for Atlantis. The Gate symbols lit up on the DHD, but when he hit the center nothing happened. "Oh no. Nononononono. I knew we should have checked it when we got here!"

He dropped to the ground tearing away the dense foliage with Teyla's help.

Pulling open the panel he stared at the DHD's interior.

"How long is it going to take, McKay? Remember we could get party crashers at anytime."

"Thanks for the reminder of the obvious, Colonel." McKay snapped irritably as he began pulling crystals and checking them out before reinserting them. "It will take as long as it takes. That's the best answer I can give you until I know what the problem is."

Ronon and Sheppard watched the woods nervously while Teyla knelt by McKay and helped by doing whatever he told her to do without question; hold this, move that, change this one for that one. Three hours later McKay put the panel cover back on and stood up dusting off his hands.

"Fixed?" Ronon asked grumpily.

"No. Nothing wrong with it." McKay sounded mystified and pissed off. "I've checked every crystal, every circuit and the power is there. Nothing's shorted out, nothing's broken. The DHD has power and is working."

"Something's wrong with it, McKay or we'd be in Atlantis having hot showers by now." Sheppard growled.

"Yes, well, trust me when I say nothing is wrong with the DHD. Something may be wrong between the DHD and the Gate, but to determine that I'd need to dig up the connecting cables." He waved a hand at the ground in aggravation. "Have any shovels?" He looked at Sheppard expectantly. "No?"

Sheppard snarled in frustration and looked around. The Gate was technically in a clearing, but several trees had grown up in the clearing close enough to the Gate and each other to prevent the puddle jumper from coming through.

"An easy mission." He yelled. "Is it too much to ask for one lousy, easy mission where things go right?" He kicked the tall grass and stomped off a few feet glowering into the distance.

Finally, he sighed and turned around. "Waiting for the Daedalus is out of the question. It's two weeks out." He studied the layout. "When Elizabeth doesn't hear from us she'll dial in. We get her to send through some C-4. We'll blow up a couple of trees; she'll send the jumper and we'll go home."

He smiled confidently at his team.

"That plan sucks!" McKay snapped. "C-4? On these monsters? What if they fall on the Gate?"

"Do you have a better plan, Rodney?" Sheppard asked silkily.

"No, but that doesn't make yours a good one." McKay replied peevishly.

"No, it just makes it the only one."

They took cover and ate the last of the power bars. It wasn't long afterwards that the Gate whooshed and filled with shimmering blue/silver water that was the event horizon.

"Elizabeth," Sheppard spoke up immediately. "We have an electrical problem. Apparently, there is a short between the Gate and the DHD."

"And you are just now discovering this, John?" Dr. Weir sounded aggravated.

"'Lizabeth, the symbols will light up on the DHD, but the centre activator isn't working. I've checked the DHD and everything is working as it should." McKay explained in rapid fire words.

"If you could just toss enough C-4 through to take out a couple of trees," Sheppard said calmly, "we can create space for the jumper to come through and we'll use the jumper's remote DHD to activate the Gate."

"Just toss the C-4 through and hope we don't blow up you or the Gate?" Elizabeth replied sarcastically.

"We need to knock these trees out of the way." Sheppard answered patiently.

"You could send through shovels so we can unearth the connecting cables." McKay gave her the second option with dark humor.

"I'll send it through with an explosive expert." Elizabeth responded dryly.

"If it doesn't work, we're stuck here until the Daedalus arrives. I rather not have anyone else come through the Gate." John reminded her. "This planet isn't as nice as it seems Elizabeth."

On the other side of the Gate Major Lorne and Dr. Weir exchange glances.

"John. What's going on?" her voice more resigned than actually worried..

"You know Dinosaur Planet that Bates found?"

"Yes," she replied a note of disbelief in her voice.

"We just found Jurassic Park II."

"Jurassic Park?" Major Lorne repeated stupefied.

"T-Rex, velociraptors, saber-tooth tigers, oh my." Rodney quipped.

"Is everyone alright, John?" Dr. Weir couldn't keep the worry out of her voice and the team could hear the sounds of the techs in the background as they questioned, 'T-Rex, saber-tooth tigers?'

"We could also use some more MREs and a broad spectrum antibiotic. McKay's eaten all the food and Ronon has received a rather nasty bite and its getting somewhat inflamed."

"Fine. Let me get some from Carson and we'll send it through with the C-4 and MREs on a sled. Anything else?" Despite the serious situation, Elizabeth was amused. If Sheppard was taking pot shots at McKay then everything was under control.

"Two double cheeseburgers, a large fry and a coke. Super-sized." McKay quipped with a flash of a smile. "And an apple pie."

"Just make sure its clear before sending it through the Gate." Sheppard drawled.

"Of course, John." Elizabeth replied barely hanging on to her calm demeanor.

"Um, Elizabeth," Sheppard added almost as an afterthought. "One more thing, I won't say a problem yet, but someone else is here."

"What?" Surprise echoed through the radio.

"A young girl apparently all alone on this world." McKay elaborated, all traces of humor gone.

"A girl?" Major Lorne rejoined the conversation after informing Dr. Beckett and a marine about the situation and the needs.

"Apparently, we stumbled across her cave. Only signs we can find are hers. She spotted us watching her and ran. We saw her again this morning; led us to fresh water. Ronon can track her, but we don't have to investigate if you don't want us too." He looked at Rodney and grinned in devilment.

"You can't leave a girl out there alone with man-eating dinosaurs, John." Elizabeth sounded piqued.

"Okay, we'll see what we can find out. We'll have to spend another night here in the cave."

"I don't like it, but I don't see that we have much choice. A young girl. I'll get the supplies together and dial back shortly." The signal cut off.

"You heard her; another night in paradise."

The team watched the forest and listened apprehensively for the sound of something, anything, coming their way. Sheppard was fidgeting fretfully when the Gate lit up and the wormhole formed.

"John, is it safe for us to send supplies through?"

Sheppard looked around the clearing and listened to the wildlife. "Yeah, send it through."

Moments later a sled rolled onto out of the Gate. Teyla and Sheppard grabbed it and pulled it clear. There was several packages of C-4, a bottle of antibiotics and some sterile bandages and enough MREs for a several days.

"Once you clear the Gate, John I'm sending Major Lorne through in the puddle jumper to help you locate the girl."

"Elizabeth…"

"No arguments, John. It sounds like you could use reinforcements." The Gate shut down before he could argue.

Teyla insisted on Ronon taking the antibiotics. He kept saying he was fine. They argued until finally Rodney lost his already frayed temper. He stormed over to Teyla.

Yanking the bottle out of her hand he stepped into Ronon's personal space and shoved the bottle in his face. "Take the pills before you lose the leg." He spit out the words, shoved the bottle into Ronon's chest, and waited for Ronon to grab it before turning and stalking over to the sled.

Back turned to them he rummaged through the MREs taking his favorites and putting them in his pack. He then divided the rest into three piles according to his team mates preferences.

"Sorry." Ronon apologized quietly, coming up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Still not used to having people care."

Rodney sighed, letting the anger slide out of him. "I owe you an apology, too."

"Apology accepted."

Rodney gave a half-hearted little laugh. "You drive me crazy. You harp about my eating habits and then do this crap." His hand raised half-heartedly and then dropped back to his side. "It's not weak to take care of yourself and as one of my few friends you have a responsibility to stay alive."

"I'll remember that." Ronon gave him a grin.

"Good because Sheppard is playing with C-4; dinosaurs think we're dinner; Gate's broke. I don't need to worry about you losing a leg on top of all that."

"I won't lose the leg. I harp about your eating because you're one of my few friends as well."

Rodney's gazed flicked past Ronon to Sheppard who was indeed gently kneading the C-4 and frowning slightly as he concentrated. Teyla was studiously watching the tree line.

"We're dead. That's why you're saying this now? Because Sheppard's going to blow us up or we're going to get eaten?" He turned his accusing gaze back to Ronon.

"We aren't going to die."

Rodney waved his hand helplessly. "We are so going to die.

"Enough bonding already. Has anyone checked for Rex lately?" Sheppard yelled.

"Crap, forgot." McKay fumbled the detector out of his pocket. Flicking it on he scanned the area. He stopped staring at it then raised his head and stared intently into the tree line. "Sheppard you'll want to pack the C-4. We need to run." He looked down at the detector nervously.

Ronon looked over his shoulder. "The little ones, Sheppard. Lots of them headed our way and something else from that direction." Ronon scooped the MREs up and shoved them into McKay's pack before yanking it off his back.

Sheppard sent the tree line a slightly panicked look and then began packing the C-4 as quickly as he could. "Which way, McKay?"

Teyla hurried over to the sled and shoved the remaining MREs and antibiotics into her pack.

"Run that way." McKay pointed across the clearing. "Head for the oak tree. It's our best bet."

"Run," Ronon gave him a shove.

It was all the encouragement Rodney needed. He took off for the oak tree at full speed. He heard his team mates pounding up behind him. They were over halfway to the tree when dozens of shrill screams rent the air. The frilled lizards were in the clearing and had sighted them. He put on a spurt of fear induced speed and reached the tree. Swinging onto a low hanging branch he didn't pause just reached for the next branch up. Up and up he scrambled knowing they wouldn't pass him; knowing he had to get as high as possible so they would be safe as well.

He didn't hear anyone behind him. He heard gunfire. He turned and saw Ronon at the base of the tree firing past Teyla and Sheppard. Teyla turned and stood her ground firing until Sheppard was past her. Only then did she turn, pacing him while Ronon fired shots, picking off the leaders.

Sheppard was running as fast as he dared the pack of C-4 dangling from his hand. It wasn't going to be fast enough. "Drop the pack," he muttered, eyes wide. He felt his side. His gun was there. With a curse, he began scrambling back down.

"Get back up, McKay." Ronon growled.

"No." He knelt to steady his aim. "I'm part of this team, this family, too."

He began to carefully place his shots. 'Take your time,' he reminded himself. "Be sure of your aim.' He pulled the trigger and a lizard dropped from sight.

They couldn't get them all. They were practically on Teyla and Sheppard's heels. 'Not like this.' McKay muttered. 'Please, not like this.' His vivid imagination had Teyla and Sheppard on the ground swarmed by the frilled lizards, screaming in agony as chunks of flesh were torn from their thrashing bodies. He fired two more shots that dropped two more lizards.

"Aiiiieee! Aiiieeee!" The lizards paused, heads swiveling at the high pitched yell. The girl stood in the glade throwing objects at the lizards.

Their muzzles lifted, scenting, then they began running toward the girl. She tossed several more objects at them before turning and streaking across the clearing toward another tree.

Several lizards pounced on the objects, fighting each other, and tearing at it. The others ran down the other objects which apparently were meat since they were shredding it viciously and swallowing hungrily. The rest split some continued chasing the girl while others turned back toward Sheppard's team.

"Tree. Now." Ronon glowered at Rodney and Rodney scrambled back into the tree. Ronon swung up behind him now and he could hear Sheppard and Teyla making their way up the branches. Reaching the utmost branch that could hold his weight, Rodney looked out in the direction the girl had fled and saw branches shaking as she too climbed high into her tree.

Just then several roars reverberated through the clearing and four tawny shapes became visible leaping through the tall grass. They collided with the lizards and a ferocious battle began.

Lizards leaped, biting and clawing, swarming each feline. The felines swiped at the lizards with paws bigger than a man's head and snapped at them with jaws full of razor sharp teeth and overgrown canines. After a short, but brutal skirmish the lizards broke and fled back into the tree line.

Roars of victory deafened the humans. The saber-tooth tigers then settled down for a leisurely meal of frilled lizards and dried meat. They were treed until the clearing cleared.

McKay pulled his binoculars and trained them on the girl across the clearing. A chuckle escaped him. The saucy girl was tucked up in a split eating one of his power bars with a satisfied grin on her face looking for all the world like she did this kind of thing all the time. But, then again, Rodney thought, perhaps she did.

The Gate whooshed and established a wormhole about two hours later. "John, any luck with the C-4?" Elizabeth's voice broke the silence. The tigers leaped to their feet growling menacingly at her strange sounds.

"Well, Elizabeth," Sheppard actually sounded sheepish. "It seems we've been treed for the moment."

"Treed?"

"Yes," McKay jumped in unable to maintain silence. "By filled lizards and saber-tooth tigers."

"Saber-tooth tigers?"

"Umm, yes. This clearing is apparently very popular."

"It'll be dark in a few hours. If we get the chance, I'll set the charges before we retreat to the cave. Call back in three hours. If it worked, Lorne can pick us up at the cave. If we don't get the chance before dark, we'll come back at first light."

"I'm getting very tired of these delays, John." Elizabeth voice was laced more with fear than anger.

"Me, too, Elizabeth. Me, too. Sheppard out."

The Gate shut down.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The sun was setting before they could clamber down from the tree. McKay looked over at the girl's tree. "C-4 first, McKay." Sheppard replied in his Colonel voice.

"Right."

The three of them stood guard while Sheppard carefully placed the charges. Muttering constantly under his breath about explosion trajectories and falling pieces.

"I almost wish Cadman was here." Rodney muttered.

"I'll tell her you said so." Sheppard responded dryly, amused at the dismay on Rodney's face. Two years later and McKay still wasn't comfortable around Cadman. Sheppard smirked. What was it that Cadman had learned during her stint inside McKay's head that made the man pale every time she came near him?

Ronon placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Ronon knew. McKay had told him in a rare moment of camaraderie. Cadman had been able to access everything; his thoughts, his memories, his feelings. She knew of his childhood horrors and tribulations; knew the neglect of his parents; knew how he had been bullied at school; knew the humiliations he suffered in college, how he'd been the object of a sorority Pledge Week prank involving a girl he had truly liked. His entire fiasco of a life had been laid open to her. She also was aware of all his insecurities and fears; all his hopes and dreams.

For McKay that made him extremely, unbearably vulnerable to her. To give Cadman credit, she never took advantage of what she knew. Never once, not even in jest had she brought up any of the painful, embarrassing past.

Finally, Sheppard was satisfied with the placement of the C-4. He set five minutes on the timers. "When I say 'go' we head back to the cave and by 'go' I mean run. Debris is going to fall everywhere."

McKay nodded and trained his binoculars on the girl. She was perched alertly in the tree, power bar tucked in her waistband, watching them intently. "Will she be safe?"

"She should be." Sheppard replied, shrugged slightly. His first and foremost duty was to get his team safely back to Atlantis. The girl was secondary. He knew McKay would stare at him in dismay and disbelief if he said that out loud. People with just a passing acquaintance with Dr. Rodney McKay usually thought he cared for no one but himself. They were wrong; completely and utterly wrong. Oh, McKay had a strong sense of self-preservation, but he would selflessly endanger himself to save someone he thought should be saved and he would never harm anyone if he could help it.

"Most likely seeing us run she'll run as well." Teyla surmised.

Sheppard pressed the detonator. "Go!"

They took off at a steady run in the direction of the cave. Near the edge of the clearing, McKay glanced over and saw a lithe shape pacing them at a safe distance. Satisfied, he turned his attention to not tripping. They were inside the tree line when the C-4 went off scaring the entire forest into silence.

Then defiant roars and bellows sounded from all over as the huge predators vocally defended their territory. Sheppard paused long enough to train his binoculars on the Gate and saw it was still standing and the path in front of it was now clear for the jumper.

For the first half hour or so as they threaded their way slowly through the woods they saw no sign of her; then, a flicker of movement to the left. She was pacing them. Checking them out. McKay paused for a drink. He waved the others on. "Just a drink." He crabbed at them. Teyla slowed keeping him in her peripheral vision as he tipped the canteen up and swallowed. A movement coming from behind her that she didn't catch at first had her yelling, "Rodney! Down!"

She thanked the Ancestors for the training they had given him when without question he dropped like a stone and curled up in a defensive ball. Before she could fire a shot another fast moving blur appeared and leaped at the feline that had launched itself at McKay.

The two shapes tangled. A roar of pain broke the silence just as they hit the ground. The two shapes became a young feline and the young girl wrestling on the ground. Teyla couldn't fire without hitting the girl. McKay scrabbled backwards away from the fight. Ronon stepped forward just as the girl cried out in agony and shot them both.

Both bodies went limp. Stunned. Ronon strode forward, booted the feline away from the girl. Her knife stuck out of its chest. Massive paws tipped with razor sharp claws indicated the feline was still growing. Long curved fangs protruded from its upper jaw and extended past the lower jaw by about three inches. The feline twitched. Ronon flipped the setting on his gun to kill and shot it again.

Teyla ran for McKay. She grasped his arm. "Rodney, are you okay?" Her hands roamed over him checking for herself without waiting for an answer.

"Yes, yes, fine. You can quit pawing me." He stared at the girl. "She saved my life." He was shaking and staring at the power bar tucked into her waistband. His eyes trailed down her body. "She's bleeding."

Teyla glanced over and saw Sheppard was already there bandaging her leg which was actually pouring blood. He used his vest bandage and Ronon's and held his hand out for McKay's and Teyla's. He tied the bandages tightly trying to stem the flow of blood. He spared one to tied around the cut on her arm.

"Looks like the," he glanced at the still form, "saber-tooth clawed her pretty bad. Nearly hip to knee. Looks like a fang grazed her arm. She's going to need medical help, maybe surgery." He looked up at his team. "Looks like she's coming with us."

"Major Lorne better get here soon." Teyla said worriedly studying the wounded girl.

"I'll carry her." McKay stated standing up and swiping his hands on his pant legs.

"I'll carry her." Ronon rumbled.

"Oh, yes, because I'm such a better shot than you." McKay sneered. "She's a tiny thing. I can carry her. You can limp and shoot things. And I'll keep my pack. Counterweight." He added the last to Sheppard who had reached for the pack.

Sheppard sighed. McKay proving again he wasn't a handicap to the team. He was the only one who still thought that maybe he was. "Okay, let's get going."

Ronon lifted the girl before McKay could get to her and handed her to him. McKay took her taking care not to jostle her injured leg any more than he had too. He studied her face, her form. Not a young girl, he thought, a young woman. She was older than they had originally thought. How long had she been here alone, fighting for survival and winning?

Ronon bent over the tiger and pulled her knife free, wiping it clean on the feline's pelt. He studied it briefly before shoving it in his belt. It was a well-made knife. Not something crudely made by a cave girl. It had excellent balance and heft and had a simple but elegant design. The blade long and curved with a fine edge. He looked over at the unconscious girl Rodney carried turning the puzzle over in his mind.

The pace was much slower now, but no one complained. Ronon took point, Sheppard paced slightly to the left and Teyla brought up the rear. They had carelessly let McKay fall behind and had almost lost him. Now he was surrounded, fiercely protected by those who counted him family.

Now that no one could see her Teyla let herself think about how close it had been. If she hadn't seen the movement; if the girl hadn't attacked a _saber-tooth_ with nothing but a knife, Rodney would have been dead. Her hands shook slightly at the thought. Rodney was like a brother to her. She loved him very much as did John and Ronon. She would not be lax again.

She glanced up at him and saw a tiny trickle of blood behind his ear. He was injured? She moved quietly up next to him. "Rodney, you are bleeding."

He glanced over at her, lips pressed together. "Hit my head on a rock. I'm fine."

"Rodney, perhaps…"

"I'm fine." He hissed wincing as pain lanced behind his eyes. "The three of you need to be free to shoot whatever comes at us. I'm the only logical person to carry her. Besides, it's just a tiny cut; head wounds just bleed."

Teyla studied him for a moment then nodded and dropped back. He had earned his place; earned the right to make these types of decisions. She would not belittle him by tattling or treating him like a child.

They were still about ten minutes away from the cave when the radios crackled to life. Sheppard indicated a stop to rest as he answered Elizabeth. "We've cleared the Gate, Elizabeth. Send the jumper through. Gate faces East. The cave is north west approximately a mile, mile and a half."

Ronon took the girl from McKay and laid her on the ground gently checking the bandages. McKay sank to the ground trembling as the past events hit home. "A saber-tooth tiger. I almost got killed by a saber-tooth tiger."

"No ordinary death for you." Not a jab, but a warrior comment. He grinned and McKay grinned back weakly.

"No, no. A brilliant man should have a brilliant death."

"John? What did Rodney say about a saber-tooth tiger?" Elizabeth sounded shocked.

"One attacked us. Our wild girl defended McKay, but she was hurt pretty bad. She's unconscious. We're bringing her back with us."

"I'm sending a puddle jumper through as we speak. They should be there in fifteen, twenty minutes."

Behind them they began to hear the faint, but frighteningly familiar sounds of dinosaur feet. Too heavy for the frilled lizards.

Rodney looked up at them. "Velociraptors." He swallowed hard. Forget being a warrior. "Promise you won't let them eat me alive."

"Rodney!" Sheppard frowned at his dramatics.

"I'm serious, Colonel. I don't care if the cavalry is on the way. We are no-where near safe. She's bleeding," he pointed at the girl, "and those things probably smell blood like sharks."

Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla exchanged looks that said 'crap, McKay's right' and became very, very alert. Sometimes it paid to have a paranoid person on the team. McKay definitely found all the ways they could die in a situation which gave the rest of them a chance to plan for survival. McKay even stood up and pulled his gun ready to fight next to them.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne. Come in."

"Major. How's the view?" Sheppard asked as if they were on vacation.

"Amazing. Never saw trees so tall, sir. I'm picking up your transmitters we are headed your way. A place to land is going to be tricky."

"The cave has a clearing in front of it."

"We'll meet you there."

"We're on our way. We wouldn't take it wrong if y'all met us halfway after landing. There are a lot of predators in these woods and we have a girl bleeding pretty bad."

"Will do, sir. Lorne out."

McKay holstered his weapon and picked the girl up with a grunt trying to ignore his pounding head and the blurring of his vision. Teyla ranged to his left, Sheppard to his right and Ronon behind him as the headed off toward the cave. Ronon had added a couple of more bandages to the girls leg and the bleeding had stopped or at least it had slowed to the point where it wasn't dripping down his arm anymore so maybe she'd live until they got her to Carson.

Minutes later they heard the thud of feet headed in their direction. Without waiting to see what it was Sheppard snapped, 'run' and they took off. McKay set as fast a pace as he could while carrying the girl, but he knew he was seriously slowing them down. Her weight put him off balance and made him awkward. His head pounded with each footfall until he thought he was going to throw up. He concentrated on not tripping and moved as fast as he could.

Behind him Teyla began firing her P-90. The gun's rapid fire strafing the front line of the pack that was chasing them. Sheppard turned and fired while she ran past him.

"Four young allosaurus!" Sheppard snapped. The information having the desired effect of speeding McKay up.

Ronon let off a few shots before he holstered his gun and snatched the girl from Rodney. He tossed her over his shoulder knowing it was bad for her leg and his, but being eaten wouldn't be good for them either.

Now they were running as fast as they could. Teyla and Sheppard turning to strafe the allosaurus slowing them down slightly, but not killing them before turning to run again.

"Lorne!" Sheppard yelled into the radio. "Now would be a good time to show up!"

"We've landed and are on our way, Sir!" Lorne responded, breathing heavily as he ran.

"Run!" Sheppard snapped as he turned and fired another burst managing to seriously wound one. He cursed when the next depression of the trigger produced not a burst of fire, but a clicking sound. He was out of ammo.

Suddenly, automatic gunfire rang out on either side of them.

"Parker and Jones is at the jumper. Go, Colonel we've got your six."

Sheppard nodded and raced after his team. Behind him he could hear sounds of disbelief and fearful cursing then he heard grenades and grinned in spite of the situation. Grenades were wonderful things.

They stumbled into the small glade and up the ramp of the puddle jumper. Ronon dumped the girl on the side bench before staggering over to the other side and collapsing himself. McKay and Teyla sat, bent over, gulping air next to him.

Lorne's team was right behind them. They filed past the exhausted First Team and took seats up front. Lorne had brought two teams which meant there were now thirteen people squeezed into the jumper. Sheppard thought inanely that he was glad it would be a short trip.

"Thanks," Sheppard muttered to Lorne as the back of the jumper shut.

"No problem, sir." Lorne replied dryly as if shooting up dinosaurs were an everyday thing.

"I see Dr. McKay has increased his running speed." Lorne stated with a small grin.

"Nothing like death on two feet racing in your direction to make you realize you have reserves."

"No, sir. I guess not."

McKay had jumped up and grabbed fresh bandages while they were talking.

"Move." He snapped at the young marine standing next to the girl. The marine jumped backwards giving McKay plenty of room. One thing you learned quickly on Atlantis: you might be able to physically bully the scientists, but they could and would make your life miserable, subtly in untraceable ways and Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka were they two most creative scientists.

Horror stories of cold showers, power outages, malfunctioning fire suppressant that coated everything in foam, doors and transporters not responding to your touch, toilets that wouldn't flush, and protected files on personal laptops becoming corrupted were told and re-told amongst the military personnel. Not to mention the crap details, undesirable duty hours, and no-holds barred training sessions with Teyla and Ronon if your bullying McKay resulted in him being harmed.

Quickly McKay removed one blood-soaked bandage and replaced it with a sterile one. "Did you have to jar the rest of her blood out of her?" He snapped at Ronon over his shoulder as he removed the second one and wrapped a fresh one around her leg gently, firmly.

"I could have left her as a diversion." Ronon snapped back, his leg throbbing painfully reminding him of the abuse he had heaped upon it. He could still see McKay at the base of the tree instead of safely up in the boughs. McKay dropping to the ground as a saber-tooth leaped at him and Ronon not seeing it in time because he was in front of him, not watching out for him. Rodney running awkwardly, hands full of the girl, meat-eaters snapping at their heels.

In a move that shocked everyone into complete silence, McKay turned and pushed Ronon against the bulkhead. "Don't even joke about that!" He snarled, glaring eye to eye with him, shoving Ronon's shoulders roughly before jerking back around and finishing re-bandaging her leg.

"Rodney?" Sheppard asked quietly while Ronon just blinked at him. Anyone else would have been slammed into the opposite bulkhead - hard. Rodney, Ronon knew, was still in the grips of overpowering terror and most likely guilt. They had spent three days trying not to be eaten alive. Redirecting terror into anger, lashing out that was what Rodney did; that was how he coped.

McKay didn't look up from what he was doing, but his hand shook as he pulled the worst-for-wear power bar from her waistband and threw it at Sheppard. "She's dying because I gave her a power bar! That's why she tried to save me, Colonel. Because I gave her nice things to eat." He swallowed hard and ran a hand over his face. He looked down at the wan, dirty face. "The saber-tooth would have gutted her. Those things would have ate her alive!"

Staring down at her pale face he began shaking in earnest. Tremors rolled through his body as shock set in. "A power bar," he muttered. Teyla silently placed a blanket around his shoulders and urged him to sit down next to Ronon.

Ronon laid a hand on his arm. "I wouldn't have left her, Rodney. I shouldn't have said it."

McKay turned wide blue eyes in his direction. "I know. 'S Okay." He realized how close he was to losing it if Ronon was calling him Rodney in public. Ronon never called him by his first name in public. "I know you wouldn't. I shouldn't have reacted that way."

Ronon leaned back, eyes closed, enduring the pain until one of Carson's medics could pump him full of the 'good drugs' as Rodney put it. Personal moment over; public façade back in place. Teyla and Sheppard found seats and relaxed.

"Tell Beckett we need a gurney for the girl and Ronon will be limping down to the infirmary to get his wound checked out." Sheppard commanded the co-pilot.

"Yes, sir."

"And Dr. McKay will be there as well to have his head wound looked at." Teyla now ratted him out.

"You're hurt?" Ronon's eyes opened and he swiveled an angry glare at glared at him as well.

"I bumped my head," he replied. "It's nothing." He glared at Teyla. She gazed back impassively sure now that he'd be checked out by a nurse.

"Let me see," Ronon ordered reaching a hand up toward his head.

"No, Conan!" Rodney swatted his hand away, glaring.

Ronon narrowed his eyes and glared. McKay folded his arms and glared back. Ronon huffed and stared at the decking then leaned back again closing his eyes. "Stubborn geek."

"Overprotective barbarian."

Sheppard shook his head pretending to be disgusted with them both. Teyla smiled slightly at all their antics.

Lorne turned his attention to the girl. Woman, he revised his thoughts as his eyes traveled her body. The bandages covered more flesh than the tattered remnants of clothing did. She had long, lean legs that didn't seem to stop. A waist that nipped in from softly rounded hips melded into a delicate looking ribcage. A ribcage that became firmly rounded breasts only partially covered by the leather top she was wearing. A long, graceful neck supported an elfin face; heart-shaped and fine boned capped by jet black hair. He saw her eyes flutter open, saw the fear and pain. Her dazed gaze landed on McKay and the fear seemed to drain from her, then she shut her eyes and was out again.

This gorgeous, built, wild woman being reassured of her safety because McKay was here was weird. Perhaps she had been hit on the head or maybe it was blood loss because no way could McKay make a rational person feel safe.

They dialed the gate and when the wormhole formed the pilot lowered the jumper down in front of it and slowly moved forward. A Tyrannosaurus Rex roared at them from the edge of the clearing. Lorne's men stared, slack-jawed at the huge beast until they dissolved into the wormhole.

Mere seconds later they reappeared on the Atlantis Gate Room. The jumper automatically rising up to the jumper bay. Dr. Beckett was there with a small team anxiously waiting for his patient.

"Oh, dear lord," he gasped when he saw her leg. "What did that?" He asked as he slid an I.V. into her hand.

"Saber-tooth tiger." Teyla answered him grimly. He cast her a startled glance before hurriedly pushing the gurney down the corridor to the transporter.

Lorne's team cleared out quickly leaving Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon, and McKay to slowly make their way to the infirmary. Lorne headed to Dr. Weir's office to update her on the successful rescue mission. He decided to leave out the hand holding and embracing he had seen.

A quarter of the way down the corridor, McKay huffed, swore under his breath about he-men, and wrapped a supportive arm around Ronon's waist. "Just lean on me," he snapped worriedly.

Ronon looked down at him and although his mouth stayed firmly pressed together in pain his eyes lit with humor. He wrapped an arm around Rodney's shoulders and let him take the brunt of the weight off of his injured leg.

Groaning exaggeratedly as Ronon's weight settled on him, he tightened his grip on him. "How much do you weigh?" he muttered. "Talk about me eating too much."

"Mine's muscle." Ronon teased, pain roughening his voice more than usual.

"I am not fat!" Rodney snapped, affronted at the implied insult.

"I know. I still have more muscle."

"Yes, well, some of us have more to do than work out in the gym."

Teyla and Sheppard chucked at the two unlikely friends as they continued to bait each other all the way to the infirmary.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

She woke early and headed toward her cave. She would show them the river so they could get fresh water and the waterfall so they would have a secondary hiding place if they needed it. She would not show them her other places, not yet.

She waited, still and silent as the morning fog rolled around her. She knew the tallest and the female saw her, but they made no move toward her and so she stood her ground. Let them realize that she was not afraid of them. Wary, that was only wise, but not afraid. After all she had survived years where no one else had survived weeks and she knew where the dangers lurked if the worst happened she knew where to lure them.

They were all awake now. She assumed the two who saw her were telling the others. She stepped back into the gloomy dawn shadows and moved to the other side of the glade.

She was glad she had moved when the female stepped outside the cave and began making calm, encouraging noises. The tallest though was frowning fiercely behind her. She stayed hidden suddenly not sure about showing them anything.

A few minutes later they left the cave and headed into the forest. She darted into the cave and noticed that all their things were again gone. She padded over to the wood container and picked up the two food gifts.

She left the cave and followed them. She realized where they were headed. No! Oh no, not the clearing, not in the early morning. Maybe she was wrong. Racing silently through the woods to get ahead of them she relied on memory to avoid the pitfalls hid underneath the fog. She threw herself down at the top of a small rise and waited. If they came this way, they were indeed headed for the Circle and it was not safe to be there this early. The dawn grazers were out and both the night and day meat-eaters would be converging on them.

They appeared, walking silently in the quiet morning then the tallest stopped and turned spotting her. She could not let them go to the clearing. She stood up, shaking slightly at being completely exposed to them. She remembered the others, the tiny dart that made her sleep. She remembered also waking up captive, tied up and unable to stop them from hurting her.

They made no move other than to watch her. She pointed toward the Circle and shook her head. She backed away slowly. They still did nothing alarming.

She stepped forward and looked toward the Gate struggling between not wanting them dead and fearing the hurt if they caught her. Then she heard the slight rustling sound that could be leaves in the wind, but there was no wind. The big clawed meat-eaters. She looked back at the strangers and motioned them to follow her.

The middle male looked to the Circle. She motioned frantically. They had to leave now! The female said something and then the male and then they were moving toward her quickly.

She retreated; hopefully staying far enough ahead not to hit by the sleeping dart, but never letting them lose sight of her. She finally heard the flowing water just ahead. She stopped by the giant leafed plants and waited for them to come into view.

As soon as they saw her, she stepped beyond the leaves and hurried up the water edge some distance. Turning, she stood and waited. Thinking of the gift-giver and how he had fallen the day before she knelt by the water never taking her eyes off of them. She scooped up some water and drank.

The males talked then the biggest knelt and drank as well. He nodded and made sounds. The gift-giver made distressed sounds and the tallest snarled back. The gift-giver drank as if he thought the water would hurt him then he drank more. Soon they were all drinking the water then they brought out containers and filled them with water. Good, she would not have to give up one of hers.

She turned and continued up the water's edge until she reached the waterfall. She moved to the base of the falls and waited for them. She was thankful they seemed to understand she did not want them to close and kept a distance between them and her. When they stopped by the pool watching her she stepped behind the falls.

Moving sure-footedly she crossed the slick ledge to the other side of the falls. Moments later they appeared. Deciding they were safe now she dove into the water swimming swiftly to the far bank and clambering out.

She would go hunt the small grazer she didn't get yesterday and then return for them. She scrambled up the steep side of the bluff the water fell over. At the top was a plateau where a large herd mid-size grazers lived. She could not kill a full-grown, but if she were lucky, she grinned, she was too practiced to depend on luck. If she took her time, she would get a young one.

She waited in position, hand holding the knife poised over her shoulder for a long, long time until finally a very young one got brave or distracted and wandered away from the group. Without hesitation, she threw the long bladed knife and jumped up when it went true.

The young one dropped to the ground and she startled the rest of them by jumping from cover. They raced in the opposite direction and she was left in peace to skin and gut her kill.

She took it to the bluffs edge and dropped it over the edge swiftly climbing down after it. She slung it over her shoulder and edged toward the cave. She stood in the cave moments later looking around bewildered. Where had they went?

The Circle. She shut her eyes and sighed. Stupid! She headed that way as fast as she could knowing she'd most likely have to sacrifice her kill to save them. Why go back to the clearing? It wasn't a safe place and the Circle let people in, but didn't let people out.

She reached the clearing breathless and frightened. She drooped in relief as she saw the strangers safe near the Circle. The Circle filled with the blue water and then sounds came from it and the strangers made sounds back.

Confused, she crept nearer, leaving her kill by a tree. A few minutes later the Circle emptied. They stayed near the Circle, but alert, watching the forest. Good they had learned to be on guard. She returned to her kill and began cutting it up and putting it in her bag. It weighed a lot less without the bones.

Shortly, the Circle filled again and voices sounded and then something appeared. Someone sent the strangers things through the Circle? That was a first and she wasn't sure about how to react to it. Were they not outcasts like her family?

The female got something from the wooden holder and started arguing with the tallest. The tallest refused to do whatever she wanted until the gift-giver took the item and pushed it against him and spoke sharply. The gift-giver stalked off and began packing items into his large bag.

The tallest strode over and talked softly and a memory stirred. Her parents standing that way in the morning outside the cave discussing the day.

She smiled slightly at the memory.

The other male made loud noises and screwed up his face. The gift-giver pulled out his hand held thing and then panicked and began saying sounds loud and sharp. He pointed at a tree across the clearing and the strangers began scrambling to gather their things.

The tallest pushed the gift-giver and then they were all running. She heard them now the little meat-eaters, a lot of them coming this way. She saw how fast they were running and knew they wouldn't make the tree. She finished hacking up her kill and crouching moved toward the strangers.

The gift-giver made it to the tree and climbed high. The tallest though stopped and turned pointing his killing thing at the meat-eaters and it made sounds and one by one the meat-eaters died.

The female turned and dealt death, but there was so many. She ran after the stranger who was weighted down with his bags. Why wouldn't he drop them? A shout and she turned toward the tree to see the gift-giver back on the ground dealing death as well. They would all die if they didn't get in the tree quickly!

They weren't going to make it. She stood up and yelled at the meat-eaters. They stopped and stared at her. Their elusive prey was making itself available. They had tried time and time again to catch her. They ran after her. She threw the raw meat at them. Several stopped to eat, but most came after her or turned back toward the strangers.

She ran for her tree and scampered up it agilely. Settling high in a crook she saw the strangers all in their tree. She pulled out the gifted food and began eating, waiting.

She wasn't disappointed. She knew her world. With a roar the big cats appeared drawn by the fresh meat and attacked the meat-eaters. The battle was soon over and the little meat-eaters ran for the tree line while the big cats feasted.

The big cats were licking their mouths clean and laying around when the Circle filled again. More sounds back and forth and the Circle emptied.

The sun was setting before the sleeping cats awoke and wandered off. The strangers climbed down and hurried to the Circle. What were they doing now? They should be heading for the cave. She frowned as she watched the male stranger stick something on the trees she had planted to keep the flying things out.

They made sounds and then they began running for the trees. Taken by surprise she scrambled down from her tree and ran after them. The loud noise scared her. She flung herself down beside a tree and covered her head and shook. She stayed huddled there until the forest noises returned to normal.

Finally, she stood up, trembling. She looked around for the strangers and not seeing them hurried after them. It was getting late and they needed to be safely in the cave. It didn't take long for her to catch up to them.

She saw the gift-giver stop to drink, waving the others to go on. She wished she had something to carry water in where it wouldn't spill when she ran. She saw a slight movement and jerked her attention away from the gift-giver. A very young big cat stalking the gift-giver!

The female yelled as she leaped at the big cat. The gift-giver fell to the ground as she collided with the cat. Her long knife sank deep into its chest and it roared in pain lashing out at her. Its long tooth slashed her arm leaving a burning trail of pain in its path.

They hit the ground hard wrestling. She tried to pull her knife out for another strike while keeping the mouth full of teeth away from her throat. She pulled the knife half way out and the cat's back leg jerked and intense pain sliced down her leg. Then everything went dark.

She woke slightly. She was being carried, bounced around. One of the strangers was running with her. Captured! The ground danced sickeningly in front of her eyes. It hurt and the darkness slid over her again.

She came queasily awake, sort of. She was laying on something and there were strangers all around her. Fear mingled with the pain and then she saw the gift-giver sitting next to the tallest and the female. Darkness came again.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Carson wheeled the gurney into the operating room issuing a stream of orders. I already have a sedative hooked up; let's get an antibiotic drip going. Get her out of those rags; sterilize the leg. We'll deal with cleaning the rest of her later."

Nurses and doctors hurried to implement his instructions and he took a moment to appreciate the professionalism of his team. Organized chaos reigned. People expertly dodged around each other getting their assigned job done without interfering with anyone else's progress.

"She's lost a lot of blood, Dr. Beckett."

"Let's get O positive in her. We've no time to find out her blood type, but we need to know it as soon as possible."

"I'll get the O positive and then start the typing." Anna hurried out of the room.

By the time he had scrubbed and gloved his team had her stripped, sterilized, and covered with a surgical sheet. The anesthetist had the blood pressure cuff on her arm and heart monitor electrodes attached to her chest.

At Dr. Beckett's nod he covered her mouth and nose with the anesthesia cup. The packet of blood was hung and another I.V. put in her other hand. The blood began to flow into her body. Carson waited to see if her body rejected it.

With a satisfied nod, he turned his attention to her leg. "Dr. Biro, let's have a look."

Dr. Biro nodded and bent her head to study the leg with him. "Those cuts are deep." She glanced up at him. "Luckily the tendons are on the backside of the upper leg so it's mostly muscle damage."

"Ummm, yes. That'll be bad enough. Teyla says a saber-tooth tiger did this."

Dr. Biro blinked at him in disbelief. "Saber-tooth?"

"I know, unbelievable. If it hadn't been Teyla, I wouldn't believe it myself." Carson took a deep breath and let it out. "Let's see if we can't get this lass walking again."

Five hours later, Dr. Beckett slowly walks out of the operating room to find Sheppard's team lounging in the infirmary. Well, to be accurate, Ronon was reclining on a gurney, calf bandaged. The rest were lounging.

"Carson?" Rodney jumped to his feet.

"She'll live," he said wearily taking a vacant seat. "I'm fairly certain she'll walk; possibly with a limp, but she'll have the use of the leg. No nerve or ligament damage. The arm wound was fairly superficial. I'd say a glancing blow. "

Rodney slumped down in the seat. "Thank God."

"A saber-tooth? Really?" Carson asked leaning back.

"Yeah," Ronon answered. "Really. Kept it from killing McKay."

Carson blinked. "Can you tell me anything at all about the lass?"

"Not really. She was living alone in a cave on Jurassic Park. She kept ghosting us, but wouldn't let us near her. She likes power bars, and something similar to blackberries. She saved us from some frilled lizards, guided us to drinkable water, and risked her life to save Rodney from the tiger."

"Well, it is a mystery." Carson leaned forward and something clinked in his pocket. "Oh, she was wearing this." He held up a corded necklace with two gold bands tied on it far enough apart that they wouldn't clink together when around her neck.

"Wedding bands?" McKay muttered.

"Looks like." Carson agreed. "We've put her at the end away from the other patients to hopefully minimize cultural shock when she wakes which will probably be a in a day or two."

"Days? Is that normal?" Teyla asked concerned.

"She lost a lot of blood and she's malnourished. Add the trauma of the injury and the surgery to that and I decided it's best to keep her sedated. Give her body a chance to recover somewhat before she has to cope with waking in a strange place surrounded by strangers."

"Alright." Sheppard nodded. "Let us know if you want us here when you wake her up."

"I will. Now I think you should all go get some rest. Except you, Ronon. You'll be spending the night."

"Perhaps I should stay." McKay said hesitantly. "I did bump my head pretty hard when dodging the saber-tooth." He gently fingered his scalp behind his ear.

"Did someone look at it, Rodney?"

"Yes, Anna. She said I was fine. A slight concussion, but…"

"Then you're fine. Go to bed. If his wound isn't infected, I'll release Ronon in the morning." Carson walked off to update the files in his office.

The next day after breakfast and checking in on the projects in the lab Rodney made his way to the infirmary. Someone on the team was always on hand when another was released from the infirmary and he wanted to check on the girl.

Ronon was sitting on the gurney, legs swinging slightly, drumming the metal frame with his fingers waiting impatiently for release. His leg hurt and he was hungry. He also thought that, at times, Carson was too cautious about their minor injuries.

"Hey."

Rodney raised a hand in greeting. He jumped up to sit next Ronon shoulders brushing slightly. "How's the leg?"

"Fine."

Rodney frowned; Ronon shrugged. "Aches, but no infection."

"Remember that next time Teyla insists on antibiotics. She probably saved you from being imprisoned for a couple of days, maybe a week."

Ronon looked appropriately horrified.

"Imprisoned?" Carson came up behind them. "That's not very nice, Rodney."

"Ah, oh, Carson, hi. How's the girl doing?"

Carson flipped open Ronon's chart, scanned it, then signed the bottom. "She's stable. She's showing a slight infection, but the antibiotics are working; her blood pressure is holding steady; she isn't showing any reaction to the blood we've pumped into her."

Carson glanced at his two friends. "Alright, you're released." He grinned slightly at the impatience on Ronon's face. "Just take it easy for the next few days. No running; make sure any sparring partners know not to hit that leg; don't stress the wound."

"Sure, Doc." Ronon gave him a real smile, the one that made him look young, boyish. He slid gently off the gurney landing on his uninjured leg and then putting weight on the other. "Let's go."

Rodney jumped off the gurney and together they walked down the infirmary aisle. Rodney adjusting his stride to Ronon's slower than usual limping one. As they disappeared around the corner, Carson caught a glimpse of Ronon's arm slinging around Rodney's shoulders. Rodney was grumbling about not being a crutch within mere seconds.

They garnered a lot of sideways stares on their way to Ronon's quarters. No one could quite believe they were friends and not just team mates. Ronon kept his arm around Rodney's shoulders. Rodney kept his arm around Ronon's waist. Ronon leaned heavily on him, limping more and more. His face clenching tighter and tighter against the flare of pain every step brought.

Once in his room, he fell back on the bed with a groan. "Here," Rodney appeared next to the bed with a glass of water and two pain pills. "I'm sure they gave you two already this morning, but with your body mass two more is not going to hurt you."

It was a testament to the pain he was in that he didn't argue or try to get out of taking the pills. He just sat up, popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them with a gulp of water.

"Stay upright," Rodney ordered moving around behind him. He pulled back the covers, knelt behind Ronon and pulled his shirt over his head. He came back around to Ronon's side of the bed and knelt, gently tugging off his boots.

"Lay down."

Ronon scooted back a little and twisted laying down on the pillow. Rodney tugged the sheet from under his legs and twitched the sheets over his body.

"I'll bring you some breakfast."

"Thanks."

Underneath the barbed hostility was a loyal friend, a funny, gentle man with a big heart. A big, soft heart yearning to love someone and to be loved. At first Ronon had despised the man. He thought he was petty, complaining cowardly and wondered why he was on Sheppard's team then he had noticed how hard Rodney was trying to emulate Sheppard. He saw, with careful watching, the deep need to belong. Teyla had seen the same. He and Teyla had went to McKay and struck a bargain.

In the course of fulfilling that bargain, Ronon had discovered the man behind the mask. Just as he masked his vulnerable emotions behind a fierce warrior exterior McKay masked his vulnerabilities behind verbal hostility.

Slowly, he had earned Rodney's trust in the field. Mission by mission he had convinced him that no matter what he wouldn't leave him behind, would protect him no matter how mad he was at him, and if separated, would come back for him no matter how many people he had to go through to get to him.

Then even slower he had won his friendship. Not knowing why he needed to befriend the strange little man, but only knowing that on some level McKay filled a hole inside of him. He had geared down the aggression; asked him questions; watched movies; bullied the bullies; joked, laughed. He realized he had earned his friendship when the injured McKay had insisted on joining the rescue team on Sateda even though he had been shot in the behind with a crossbow and couldn't sit without being in pain. Ronon finally had understood why Sheppard called McKay his best friend.

He had learned his favorite foods and desserts and started getting extras when he went to the mess for he had also learned that by the time McKay figured out it was time to eat his favorites were usually gone. He'd be sitting there watching people and McKay would come in with an eager look and head for the line only to realize whatever he had been told was there was gone.

The first few times Ronon had shoved the horded desserts across to him had been met with suspicion. McKay had as hard a time accepting friendly overtures as Ronon did. The first time Ronon showed up at the lab with a covered tray mumbling something about hypoglycemia McKay's mobile face had shown shock.

Then McKay had died. He had only stayed dead for a few minutes before the ancient machine and revived him, but to Ronon that run down the halls had seemed endless. Ronon had grabbed him up and put him on the platform before anyone else could offer to do it.

He had continued to snark and complain and Ronon had continued to glower and intimidate. Off the clock, in their rooms or out on balconies or even in the mess late when very few people were around they had talked about their childhoods, life experiences and watched movies. Slowyly, they became friends like Ronon and Sheppard were friends.

They had been on a mission. Running for the gate. Villagers chasing them because Sheppard had been caught making out with the Elder's virgin daughter. It was raining, pouring down and Sheppard had slipped. He had landed on his back, breath knocked out of him with a loud 'umph'. Ahead of Sheppard, Rodney had heard it and skidded to a stop and back tracked. Ignoring Ronon's yells he had raced to Sheppard's side and whipped out his gun firing warning shots into the dirt at the villager's feet.

"Back off!" He had shouted looking desperate and crazy with his hair sticking out in all directions and his face red with exertion. Stunned, the villager's had scrambled backwards. Rodney had helped a dazed and unsteady Sheppard gain his feet and while Teyla and Ronon had faced the villager's with weapons the two best friends had stumbled through the gate.

Sitting in the infirmary while Carson informed them that Sheppard had a mild concussion, Ronon had been hit between the eyes with the fact that the acerbic physicist who wouldn't even think of leaving a friend behind, who didn't even think of the danger to himself once he realized a friend was in danger was as much a warrior in his own way as Ronon was himself.

Sheppard came to collect him for lunch. Teyla and Rodney were already seated eating when they entered. They ate and chatted relaxed in that unique way they only did when the four of them were together.

The team's radios clicked. "Rodney, this is Carson. You may want to come to the infirmary. The girl is awake and terrified."

"Crap." Rodney got to his feet. "I'm on my way. I'd advise against cornering her."

"Aye, I've already figured that out." Carson's voice sounded pained.

Ronon got to his feet as well. "I'm coming."

"Well, hurry it up, Hop-A-Long before she destroys the infirmary."

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A/N: The sequel to this will be up shortly entitled Jurassic Girl. Reviews welcome.


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